Book of the Shadows II - Strength of the Rosencraft
by DaCosta Rosencraft
Summary: The continuation of Book of the Shadows I - History, Envoy of Chaos. This story picks up where the last book ended, with the Shadow Duel tournament. But before this tournament is over, the bonds of the Rosencraft will undergo a strain that threatens to quickly spiral into chaos. Yami, Yugi, and the rest will have to summon their strength to fight against the encroaching evil.
1. Chapter 14 - Enter the Shadow Realm

**CHAPTER 14: Enter the Shadow Realm. Yugi vs. Lafiel**

Preston gave his final compliments and stepped away from the duel arena. Without hesitation, Lafiel Alexis Wainright stepped up from her seat on the opposite side of the arena. She had been watching the duel with little interest. She already knew what it was to face Runa; she did it twice. The first time was in a friendly little duel about two months before Runa defeated her in the finals of the annual World Duel Tournament, which was held in Tokyo, Japan every year.

The two had met when they were young. They remained friends but foremost they remained rivals. The competition between them rose to scorching degrees but not once became a personal issue - just a rivalry between friends. Lafiel was looking forward to challenging her good friend again but knew it was not going to be easy getting there. The fact was that she knew that if Runa thought there was a worthy challenge in a duelist then they had to be one hell of a great duelist to pique her interest. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that with her and her opponent Yugi left that one of them had to be 2YV08, and she knew it wasn't her.

Lafiel raised a glance toward Yugi as she walked to the platform. Yugi was still sitting down, not really paying attention to the world around him. She had an immediate taste of sourness to his seemingly rude ignorance to the fact that he had an opponent that was ready to do battle. That bit of disdain dissipated and was replaced with a bit of admiration. She didn't know what it was but there was an aura of heroic defiance, as though this were not a regular kid but some great being of a power that even he could not fathom though it was his own. A frightening thought that she could not help but be comforted by. He emanated a calming wave of reassurance. She then thought to herself, "He may actually be the first to defeat Runa."

Yugi saw that his opponent was ready. She was very young for a former six-time World Championship winner. She was supposed to be over twenty, but she looked a little younger than that and reminded him a little of Sakuda. She had her hair out. It was long and a sleek, rich black. She was roughly the same height as Yami. She wore a knee length dress that a light baby blue color. Her eyes were also an odd blue-grey and very mysterious. Yugi felt as though she was not exactly what she appeared but could not place his finger on exactly what it was that gave him that impression. He wondered if anyone else had the same impression about her.

"Are you ready to duel 2YV08," Lafiel said bluntly expecting a shocked reaction.

"Ready when you are Ms. Wainright," Yugi replied neutrally, not shocked at all. "I thought you would figure it out by now. I'm sure that you probably suspected me some time ago,"

"What makes you think that?" She acknowledged to herself that he was right. She had noticed Runa hanging around him all the time with her arm around him. She wanted to see if he would admit to this himself.

"Never mind. It's not important. We should begin this duel so that the winner has as much time to prepare for their duel against Runa. I am sure it'd be of great benefit," he gave a warm smile that Lafiel could not help but return.

"All right then. I hope you're ready for a very tough duel. I was Shadow Duel's World Champion six years straight before Runa decided to compete rather than continue to sit behind the scenes. I came to see if I could take my title back. We have been friends for a while. I have dueled her several times and believe I have found a way to defeat her. Her Winged Dragon of the Sun will complicate that slightly but that won't slow me down," she looked over to where Runa had taken her seat ready to be entertained by two of her few actually challenging dueling friends.

"I will only do my very best. The outcome will be what it will be. I have my own reasons for dueling to win so I can't allow you to beat me. That very well may happen anyway but the least I could walk away with is the knowledge that I did my best to help Kenshin,"

"That's very noble of you. No wonder Runa likes you so much," Yugi cringed slightly when she spoke those words. The rest were stunned and in wonder of how she possibly knew of that situation. She continued with a brief pause to assess the reaction. "Let's get started then. May this duel not dissatisfy our hostess,"

"Okay then Ms. Wainwright. Shall I begin or would you prefer to start us off?"

"You can go ahead and start Yugi,"

"Very well, I start by drawing a card. Then I place one card face down and play Feral Imp in attack mode. That ends my turn,"

"Alright. I place a card face down as well and play Skull Red Bird. Skull Red Bird, destroy his Imp,"

"Not quite yet. I activate Trap Hole destroying your Bird,"

"Very well, I end my turn,"

"Prepare yourself; I play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts. Now I have both my monsters directly attack your life points,"

"Nice try but my Mirror Force will stop that. You will have to try again,"

"I place two cards face down and end my turn,"

"My turn again. I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode. I place two cards face down and that completes my turn,"

"I summon Faith Bird in attack mode. I place one more card face down and end my turn. Your turn once again Ms. Wainright,"

"This duel is starting to bore me. I play the magic card Hinotama to try and 'fire' things up. At the same time, you lose 500 life points. I then tribute my Celtic Guardian to summon Bottom Dweller and attack your Faith Bird,"

"I play Block Attack to stop your assault,"

"That is what I thought you might do. It doesn't matter because it is only delaying your inevitable defeat,"

"You may think so, but that is not going to stop me. This duel will continue for some time longer. I tribute my Faith Bird and summon Curse of Dragon. Curse of Dragon, launch your Burning Land attack,"

"Hahh! That attack activates my trap card, Mirror Wall. Any monster trying to attack my monsters or life points will have that attack reflected on that monster and cut its attack in half while I remain unscathed. Your Curse of Dragon is now only 1000 attack power strong,"

"Very nicely done. I end my turn,"

"First off, I activate Cold Wave. All of your magic and trap cards are disabled for one full turn. Second, I summon Gemini Elf. My Bottom Dweller destroys your Dragon and my Gemini Elf attacks you directly. You're down to 4950. I have a small bit of advice for you; you better duel against me as though you were dueling Runa. I am much stronger than you think. It would be a mistake on your part if you lose this duel because you underestimated me," She smirked as Yugi grit against the direct attack. Kenshin began to show signs of worry.

"There's something about her that seems familiar," May pondered aloud.

"Have you forgotten, May?" Sisi asked. What it was she was trying to say, May wasn't sure.

"I haven't underestimated you; I have just been trying to assess your strength. If you want me to duel at my best then I will. All I ask is that you do the same. I know that your skills are better than what you're showing me. I want to see that power just as much as you want to see mine," Yugi thought he saw her eyes flicker a bright red when he challenged her. He was certain however that she was now smiling pleasantly.

"Well, it seems we have both been playing the role of wolves in sheep's clothing. Or should I say a Hawk in human skin?" The former was heard by all but only Yugi heard the latter. She said it to him telepathically. It threw him for a loop because even Runa did not seem to know that Lafiel was capable of such an ability. If she did know, then she had never once mentioned it to anyone else. Nevertheless, Yugi replied to her telepathically.

"What on earth are you doing? How did you learn to communicate like this?"

"This is a secret between you and me Yugi. Here is what the deal is going to be. If you lose to me then you have to marry me. If you beat me and lose to Runa then you have to marry me. Understand?" She snickered at her own bluntness.

"Is everyone around me crazy? Why are you doing this?" Yugi was quite bewildered and thought of asking her if she were serious. He saw her eyes turn the signature red that was native to only Lucifer Hawks.

"As I can tell, you have noticed from where I must have gained my abilities. That's right. I am one like you. I was born into this world as part Lucifer Hawk and part human the same way you and the rest of the Rosencraft were. But I was left for dead. My parents threw me away as though I were nothing but a waste and a nuisance to them, once they found out of my having mixed blood. As though it were my own fault! I was only four at the time but I can even remember now, that night, as though it were yesterday. I could never forgive them for what it is they did to me! I had to live out my life on the streets awaiting the charity of anyone who happened to wander by and was willing to give up their spare change! I had to live like nothing more than a mere street rat; foraging day and night for a dry place to go when it rained and a piece of bread to put in my mouth so that I would live. For years, I thought that what my parents did to me was right; that I had done something wrong - what a fool I was then. I had no control over what my blood was like at my birth anymore than a child who has Downs Syndrome or Anemia. They could care less! I was a damaged good and I was no more a use to them. I automatically turned into an inconvenience, a liability, a traditional white elephant.

"I knew by the time I was ten that my parents were not a reflection of every human. In my days wandering those streets I saw parents who were kind to their children, even when they did something wrong. They would talk sternly to them and try to send them on the right path that a good person should follow, but not do what my parents did and throw me on the streets just because they were getting a little too much trouble!

"Eventually, I found ways of educating myself. Alone on the streets I had nothing better to do. I would steal into the libraries and schools and other such places, sit down, and commence to reading as much as I could. Of course, I had to start by finding my way through the alphabet and moved up from there. I taught myself everything that I know. But all the knowledge in the world cannot help that feeling of loneliness that is always present when you have no one to turn to. I've spent thousands of years watching the few people I met pass away with time like little sands in an endless hourglass. I'm tired of being alone. One way or another, my loneliness will end here today,"

Yugi listened to her story with great sympathy. He could not imagine what she must have had to live through but he knew it could not have been the least bit pleasant. His mind went into overdrive. He now had another issue to deal with in an already complicated and highly sensitive situation.

"Yugi, what's going on? Is everything okay over there?" Kenshin beckoned from below.

Returning to his telepathic connection with Lafiel, Yugi asked her a question. "I have two questions. One, would you see it best that we continue this duel here on Earth or back in the Shadow Realm? Two, do you feel that the others should know about this little situation?"

"The Shadow Realm would be best. As for the others, it doesn't matter. As a matter of fact, I will invite them in on this discussion of ours,"

Lafiel turned around. She extended her right hand and from it appeared a ring of red light. It grew to a portal large enough for them to travel through. "Alright everyone, let's hurry up,"

Yugi stepped forward without hesitation. The others were in shock at having this unknown person with the ability to open the gate to the Shadow Realm. Before they could ask what was going on, Yugi and Lafiel had already passed through. They now had little alternative other than to follow the two competitors.

Once they arrived in the Shadow Realm, Lafiel and Yugi were standing there awaiting their arrival. Sisi was the first to notice that a ring on her finger was glowing brilliantly in sync with the glow of her fiery eyes. Yugi spoke up with a slight shakiness in his voice.

"Everyone, Lafiel has something that she wants to talk to you all about. I think it is very important that you listen to what she has to say,"

They listened to the story that she had told Yugi; every part including the one that displeased Runa and Rini as well as cause Tea to cringe inside the pit of her stomach. It was a clear day in the Shadow Realm. They were near the Great Trinity Lakes of Sapphire. The lake reflected the sky very well, almost like glass. Once she finished her story, Lafiel turned back to Yugi ready to continue their duel. Yami spoke up before they could continue.

"Wait, Lafiel. Is all of this really necessary? Can't this be resolved another way?"

"No, it can't, Yami. Now you all will have to stay out of our duel. I will not allow anyone's interference. Now if you excuse me, my fiancée and I must complete our duel,"

Runa and Rini were highly angered by the insurgence by this stranger. They both understood what she had gone through but were purely upset by her claiming of their would-be husband. Tea stood in the back staring a vengeful hole straight through Lafiel. Her eyes seemed to be turning an angry red as well. The others stood perplexed, unknowing of what more they could do, so they did all they could do; they let the two finish their duel. It was watched with tentative eyes.

May still kept trying to figure out what it was that seemed so familiar. At the same time, Sisi seemed mostly unfazed. The marriage proposal did strike her as unexpectedly as it did everyone else, but everything else was as though she'd heard it all before.

Joining by the side of the duel field were Ra, Slifer, Suzami and Selenity. A power struggle was in place and only Yugi and Lafiel would be able to settle it.

"Where were we Yugi?" Lafiel continued.

"I believe I had just taken a direct attack from you so that would make it my turn," Yugi retorted.

"Alright then let's continue this duel,"

"I have one last thing to tell you before this duel continues. Even though you don't realize it yet, we are not going to leave you now. It's impossible for me to imagine what you went through, but I can promise you that, even if things do not go to your plan here today, that we will still be here for you. We won't leave you behind. However, this duel has to be won by me. As a duelist, I cannot lose to you or anyone else. That is how we duelists look at the game. We play to win. Always,"

"Very well spoken, fiancée. I have known that as long as I have been a duelist. Get ready to step it up a couple of notches; I am about to get a lot tougher in this duel,"

"Glad to hear it. I place two cards face down on the field. Then I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode. That will end my turn for now,"

"I thought you were stepping up your dueling. I will tribute my Bottom Dweller to bring out Summoned Skull. I have my Summoned Skull vanquish your Neo,"

"That is what I thought. I activate Bottomless Trap Hole. Your Summoned Skull is gone,"

"No fair! You're very mean. Fine then. I place a card face down and summon Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode and end my turn. My trap card is still in play and you won't be able to stop it," Although she was speaking very lightly with seemingly no care at all, her eyes told the story. She was serious about winning this duel. There was the same level of determination and seriousness in her gaze as was in Runa's. Yugi found himself thinking his situation over and wondering if it was just his luck that he would be in such a confusing situation.

"Here is the card needed to take down your wall. I play Remove Trap. Your wall is knocked down. Now, I summon Dunames Dark Witch powering it up with Malevolent Nuzzler and attack your Gemini Elf,"

"You may have knocked my wall down but I bet you never expected this. I activate a second Mirror Wall. Your little witch is down to 1550 attack. Too bad,"

"Ahh. You were right, I never expected a second Mirror Wall. Alright, I switch my Magic Swordsman to defense mode,"

"Once again I managed to trap you in my plan. That move activates my Gorgon's Eye. Any monster you place in defense mode will be frozen in its stone defense position. Once I destroy it, half its attack will be removed from your life points. Nice trick, huh?"

"I have no choice but to end my turn,"

"Thank you. Fun time is over. I play Monster Recovery. It allows me to bring one monster with the lowest attack back from my graveyard. I bring back Celtic Guardian. Then, I tribute him and my Giant Soldier of Stone to summon the Dark Magician. I activate Heavy Storm to blow away your trap and magic cards,"

"It seems I have led you into one of my traps. I activate Driving Snow. I can destroy a trap card of yours when you destroy one of mine. I take out your Mirror Wall down once again,"

"You are very clever. I can still take out a good piece of your life points by having my Dark Magician destroy your Dunames Dark Witch. And your Neo statue is gone with my Gemini Elf's attack, with 850 of your life points, taking you down to 2700. You're helpless against me,"

"Not yet. I place three cards face down and activate an additional magic card. It is called Rising Shadows. I can summon any monster with 'Dark' in its name straight from my deck. I chose none other than my Dark Magicain. Now Dark Magician, destroy Bottom Dweller. You are 850 life points closer to defeat. This show will last longer than you think,"

"Hah hah. Very funny Yugi. Seeing as how our monsters are of equal strength, I place three cards on the field as well and end my turn,"

"I place two last cards face down and a monster in defense mode,"

"I also place two cards and a monster in defense mode. Now I have my Dark Magician attack your defense position monster,"

"I activate Mirror Force,"

"I activate Fairy's Hand Mirror and send the attack back at you,"

"I activate Royal Decree,"

"I activate Type Zero Magic Crusher,"

"I activate Imperial Order,"

"I activate Repeat Offense,"

"I activate Magic Jammer,"

"I activate Gust,"

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon,"

"Well. It seems were right back where we started. Neither of us has made it any further in that last exchange. I congratulate you on being able to stop each of my spells, Yugi. A battle of Magicians will be interesting. My last card on the field won't be stopped. I activate Dark Energy Gathering. This magic card allows me to special summon either a Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl. I chose a Dark Magician Girl. Thanks to the two Dark Magicians on the field, my Dark Magician Girl gains an extra 1000 attack. She may not be able to attack, yet, but that's okay. Lastly, I play from my hand Swords of Revealing Light. That is all for now. Next turn you are done in this duel. I can hear the wedding bells already. It's going to be fantastic,"

Runa, Rini and Tea were fuming at Lafiel. They struggled to maintain their composure. Kenshin's face was a twisted figure as it showed signs of joy as it appeared that there was no way he would ever have to marry Runa now but it also showed concern as his friend was about to be taken down by Lafiel, a girl whom they all knew very little about. The others were also concerned but knew there was nothing they could do. The two of them were determined to have this duel and were not going to let anyone interfere with it. There was no stopping it. All they could do was watch and hope Yugi could find a way to win. Then he had the same problem to deal with in his next duel. What a month this had been.

Slifer raised its head as though it sensed something coming. It groaned in delight. Anzu rubbed its head to try and quiet it but it remained fixed on the skies above the duel field. It was beginning to cloud over very rapidly.

"You may have me down now but that will change now. First I play Soul of the Pure to raise my life points by 2000. Then I play Tribute Doll. I use it so that I can summon my Dark Magician Girl. Once again we are even. Because it was a special summoning I utilize my normal summoning to bring forth Revival Jam. I also place a card face down and play Jam Defender forcing any attack on to my Revival Jam. I end my turn," Thick, dark clouds that held coursing lightning now settled the sky.

"I use Monster Reborn to bring back Summoned Skull. Are you ready for this Yugi? It is the only monster that could do any better to wrap up this duel. I use the special team ability of the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl," Everyone took a step back in surprise.

They knew very well what that meant. There was only one thing that the Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician could do together as a team ability. Slifer roared into the air. Lightning flew down and struck the just reborn Summoned Skull in a pillar of light that continued to rain down.

"I tribute my Summoned Skull through the power of the magic of my two mages in order to unleash the awesome power of the Saint Dragon of Osiris, Slifer the Shadow Dragon!" The lightning bolt retreated and coiled itself through the air. It took its shape. It was not something any of them expected to have to see here in this duel from Lafiel. Of all cards she could have, of all monsters she would summon, of all places to summon it, no one expected a Slifer the Shadow Dragon with one already sitting and watching from the sidelines; a real one. The dragon towered and roared its deafening, frightening roar.

"My Slifer is on the field now with an attack power of an overwhelming 35,000. I could attack one of your monsters but thanks to Revival Jam and Jam Defender it would be pointless. I will end my turn. You have no hope left for winning. There is no way you will be able to stop me now. All I need is a card to take out your Jam Defender and you will be my new husband. Don't worry; it won't be so bad. You can trust me,"

"Well, we know what was bugging Slifer. But why is he still so riled up?" Noa asked aloud.

"It's not over. Something else is coming and it knows what it is," Rini exclaimed with a bit of concern.

"A good question would be, where did she get a Slifer the Shadow Dragon. Yugi is supposed to be the only one with that card in his deck," Runa spoke with great anger. It was something they had not stopped to consider. How did she get a second Slifer the Shadow Dragon; unless of course she somehow took it out of Yugi's deck.

"Another great surprise there, Lafiel. Wow, Slifer the Shadow Dragon. What are the chances of that? I bet the chances of my next move are even smaller. I had another question for you but I think I will leave it for after the duel,"

"Suit yourself my sweet,"

"Please don't do that," Yugi sighed. "Back to my turn, first, I place a card on the field. Then I summon Horn Imp. I also activate Ultimate Offering so I can summon another monster at the cost of only 500 life points. I use Horn Imp as a sacrifice to summon this great creature,"

Lightning flowed down on the field once more. The body of the beast was coiled by the side of the one who summoned it. It roared its familiar roar with the same familiar ferocity as it always used in introducing itself. "Now you will have to deal with my Slifer the Shadow Dragon. It's you who won't win this duel, Lafiel,"

Three Slifer the Shadow Dragons were gathered, two in this duel and one real one, guarding the sidelines like an impenetrable fortress of power. It was an unprecedented event indeed. Never before had two of the same Saint Beasts occupied a field at the same time. Runa's theory about Yugi having his Slifer secretly stolen turned out to be wrong. The proof was looming over the field. It also raised another concern that added onto the ones they already had. How did this young woman – Runa thought it odd to call her a young woman now since she had obviously been around as long as she had been – come across a second Slifer the Shadow Dragon? As far as most of them knew, there was only a single card made for each Saint Beast.

How did this young woman become so skilled at dueling? Even Runa was impressed at her level of skill. She had obviously tried to refrain from using all her strength when they dueled each other. How powerful was she? That was not so much as important as how stable she was. If she were a lose cannon liable to go off at any time, they would hope she wasn't too strong. The real Slifer had settled back down now and watched the duel. It was Lafiel's turn and with them both evenly matched, the duel could, and likely would, end as soon as either one of them attacked. Two monsters, 35,000 attack each, invulnerable to most magic and trap cards for both them and all other monsters on the field, the duel rode on the next play.

"Let's see you stop this, Yugi. I place a card face down. Then I play Cursebreaker. Say bye bye to your Jam Defender,"

"That is fine, because I play Intervention of Savior. It prevents you from doing damage to me during your battle phase this turn,"

"Meanie! Humph! Fine then I end this turn,"

"Here goes. I play a second Jam Defender. Then I use the power of Dark Abyss. All my monsters of the same type are strengthened by 1000 attack points. I place a card face down and end my turn,"

"I'm done with this. Slifer, attack his Dark Magician now!"

"That won't work. My Jam Defender is still on the field,"

"Not anymore. I activate the face down Trap Jammer. Your Dark Magician is going to fall,"

"I thought you might. I activate Magic Cylinder. It will absorb your attack and send it back at you. I know it won't destroy Slifer because of its effect but it will protect my Dark Magician. It's over. When my turn starts, your Swords of Revealing Light will be over and I will be free to attack. You have nothing left to stop any attack I send out,"

Lafiel looked with astonishment. She did not want to believe that she had been outsmarted. She was even able to do what she didn't think she would have to, let out her little secret weapon. It was the one monster she never thought any duelist would force her to play with the exception of Runa, and she never summoned it against her.

But here it was that she did have to summon it and then was still unable to find a way past this adversary. Now she would have to rely on Runa to win so as she could claim her own prize after this defeat. "_At least my husband can hold his own_," she thought to herself.

"Alright," Lafiel said smiling, "I surrender. There is no card left in my deck that could help me now. You are the winner. I will hope for your defeat at the hands of Runa so you and I can live happily ever after,"

"Wait just one second lady!" Rini yelled. "Yugi is mine! I don't know where you came from but you can't have my Yugi!"

"Sorry but I didn't see your name on his forehead!" Lafiel countered.

"Neither of you can have him until I beat him so you can both stop arguing," Runa asserted.

"It looks like you have one hell of a battle ahead of you Yugi," Yami jeered. The three women bickered loudly with each other.

"This is a disaster. You would think that I was the last guy on the planet the way those three are fighting. We should get back to Earth before anything gets out of control. We did kind of leave in the middle of a live broadcast,"

"Right Yugi. Hey you three, we have to go now. You can argue later,"

"Thanks Tea, for not going crazy like those three,"

Yami re-opened the dimensional tear and they went back to the arena on Earth. Their disappearing act went unnoticed thanks to the backup override system that Runa installed just in case there was a need to leave abruptly. The three security guards inside and the four others that were called in at the disappearance were treated to a mind eraser. They did go ahead and announce Yugi the winner once the satellite connection was re-established. They then went along with Runa to her penthouse apartment at the top of the tower where Lafiel was supposed to explain the entire of her story.

"Where do you want me to begin?" Lafiel asked.

"First I want to ask you a quick question, if I may," Yami said.

"That's fine,"

"Your parents, they didn't work with the Sancrien diplomatic or science departments did they?"

"No, they didn't. Would that make a difference?"

"Yes, it would explain why they did not understand your powers and why my father did not know about you,"

"What do you mean Yami?"

"The reason that we have mixed blood is because our mothers were unwillingly implanted with Lucifer Hawk DNA. They were chosen because they were the ones with the closest ties to the project that was to form an alliance with the Lucifer Hawks. It was only after the subjects were put through the tests that they were told. Rumors had it that some people outside the departments were also infected. Because they were not members of the government and they were unofficially experimented on, they were therefore not told about it and would not have been able to find out. No records were kept on them so when my father destroyed the laboratory only those tied to the government had been notified. The horrible behavior of your parents reflects the attitude most people would have taken had they found out that we were half like Them. That story explains all of us here with the exception of Rini, Anzu, Tea, Yugi and me. Our blood is mixed by means of heredity,"

"That still doesn't excuse them,"

"Yes, you're right. It doesn't at all. It does make me wonder how many others there are like you around the world,"

"I have a question for you, Lafiel,"

"What is it Kenshin?"

"How might you have come across a Slifer the Shadow Dragon? You were able to summon it in the Shadow Realm so that eliminates the possibility that it is a fake,"

"I knew there was a second Slifer," Yami began. "Anzu, Rini, and I knew actually. My dad created two of each Saint Beast so as there would always be a balance. As dragons, the Winged Dragon of the Sun and Slifer the Shadow Dragon choose the duelist who shall control them and choose when they will appear to that chosen duelist. I'm still curious as to when you got it,"

"It was before I left the Shadow Realm and came here to Earth. It was shortly before I heard about you and Anastasia defeating Hiei and Kiram at the castle, before the attack on Earth by Genosa. It just came to me. All I remember was a light, a crimson light, which gave me the card. I kind of knew just from touching it that I was supposed to keep it and take great cares in using it. I understood and never used it until today,"

"Hold on a second," Noa said with alarm, "Who is Genosa?"

"You haven't heard of him?" Lafiel asked with surprise.

"No, but from your expression it sounds as though we should."

"He is Genosa Maxamillian DeVice. He is the most evil being this world has seen. He is of the highest order of Lucifer Hawk. His power dwarfs that of Hiei and Kiram combined and he has no fear in using it. He does, however, choose much of the time, to leave the dirty work to his underlings.

"After you all disappeared he came to Sancrien. He said his time was short but that he would use it well. He used some power to clear the minds of every person on the planet. He has two Saint Beasts; two Saint Paladin of Chaos, Obelisk the Tormentor. He used them on a three-day continual rampage of destruction across the planet, leveling city after city, and town after town. Millions died during his campaign leaving only five percent of the population to try and rebuild after his disappearance. It was disastrous. No one from the Shadow Realm could even attempt to stop him because he somehow closed off the gateway between the worlds. No one could get through,"

"This is very serious," Noa said.

"If we happen to be in one world and Genosa decides to attack the other, we may not have a way of getting there!" May exclaimed.

"Not necessarily. We could get through,"

"What do you mean Rini?"

"I mean Lafiel, that the lock must have been a spell. All we need do is launch a counter against it that is strong enough. We now have three Saint Beasts with us. Whatever the barrier, they could take it down for sure,"

"My sister is right, but there is another problem. An attack like that would surely be strong enough but it might be too powerful. It may be too much energy for the Earth to handle. The strain could rip the planet apart - not a pretty picture,"

"So what do we do about it?"

"What we do Runa, is nothing; for now,"

"How can we do nothing Yami?"

"The thing is he has been gone for over 13,000 years. I doubt we will be able to find him just by snapping our fingers. It's been so long I doubt there are any trails left for us to follow. For now, it's his move. Our move ended when whatever caused him to vanish took effect. If he is alive, then we have no choice but to wait for him to move. If he isn't, then we have nothing to worry about from him. Personally, I hope that he isn't alive, but I have a feeling that he is alive, I've had the feeling for a while now and I feel that he will make himself known very soon,"

While they concluded their discussion a man knocked at the room door to announce that everything was ready for the conclusion of the tournament. At sunset the final battle would commence and hopefully answer a few questions would be answered when it was over.


	2. Chapter 15 - The Tournament Ends

**CHAPTER 15: The Tournament Ends, Yugi Asakura vs. Runa Dantes**

Sunset arrived with superb brilliance. A beautiful array of red, blue and purple stretched across the horizon. From the duel platform on top the tower you could see for miles around. The temperature was pleasant and there was very little wind considering how high up they were. The two competitors had already taken their places on the field. The Rosencraft, now joined by Lafiel, sat on either side of the platform awaiting that final duel to begin. As the sun made its final decent into the horizon, the moon rose majestically on the opposite end of the sky. The sun went slowly. It did not want to let go of its grip but the moon came with equal vigor. That was it. The sun was down and the duel was set to begin.

"Yugi, it's time we start this duel. I suspect that you already know that if you want to win that you will have to come at me with full force right from the beginning," Runa's eyes had already turned that deathly determined red. "I also suspect that you already know that if you want to lose on purpose, all you would need to do is surrender at the beginning of the duel. I hope that is not the case,"

"You have nothing to worry about Runa. I have already decided that I will do my best in this duel. All I can do is try and sway it in the direction I want, but that does not seem possible right now," For the first time Yugi summoned up enough determination to be very worried about this duel. His eyes were a red of equal vibrancy to Runa's.

The last glimmer of sun disappeared. The moon had fully risen in the sky. A strong wind swept the field. Runa and Yugi inserted their decks to their duel discs and the duel began.

"Ready sweetie?"

"Ahh, I asked you not to call me that,"

"Lose to me and I will never call you that again. I promise,"

"I don't know that will happen. Who will start this duel?"

"Being the current Queen of Games and the World Shadow Duel champion, that entitles you to the first move sweetie,"

"Very well. To start things off, I place one card face down and one monster in defense mode. Your turn,"

"Okay, I also place a card face down and summon Harpie Lady in attack mode,"

"You activate my Trap Hole so say bye to your Harpie Lady,"

"Then I will activate my Ultimate Offering. In exchange for 500 life points I am allowed an extra summoning. I pull out of my hat a monster to place in defense mode. Your turn Yugi,"

"I place a card face down and summon 7 Colored Fish in attack mode. I attack your defense position monster with it,"

"You attacked my Old Vindictive Magician and activate its effect. It allows me to destroy one monster when it is flipped face up,"

"I end my turn,"

"Now, let's see. I place a card face down and summon Great White. I then use my Ultimate Offering again to summon Giant Soldier of Stone in defense mode. Now I have my Great White attack your face down monster,"

"That's okay. It's only Gamma the Magnet Warrior. You lose 200 life points since it has a defense of 1800,"

"Then that ends my turn, for now,"

"All I do this turn is place a card face down. Back to you,"

"Then this turn I will tribute Old Vindictive Magician and Giant Soldier of Stone to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon. Now I attack your Gamma,"

"Not so fast. I activate my face down trap Thunder of Ruler. You are prevented from carrying out your battle phase this turn,"

"Darn it! Fine then, I end this turn,"

"I set a monster face down in defense mode and end my turn,"

"I don't trust that monster you just played so I will attack with Great White first and target your face down monster,"

"It was good of you not to attack with your Blue Eyes. You attacked my Man-Eater Bug, so your Great White is automatically destroyed,"

"That is what I thought. So now I allow my Blue Eyes to take your Bug off the field. Your turn again,"

"I place another monster face down and end my turn,"

"Are you stalling this duel Yugi?"

"Why would you say that?"

"I admit that you have done well to stop me from getting some of the more powerful monsters on the field. I know that the monsters you have summoned against me are not the most powerful at your disposal. I did just watch your duel against Lafiel. Are you saying I'm not as strong as her?"

"You are right. The monsters I have summoned thus far are not the most powerful in my deck. They don't even come close. But that is not to say that I do not plan to play some even greater cards soon. You will have to wait and see,"

"If you want to play that way, I summon Ancient Elf in attack mode. Then I play Tribute to the Doomed. I will pick your face down monster since I know that it is potentially dangerous,"

"Right again. You destroyed another Man- Eater Bug,"

"Very good. Then I also destroy your Gamma by attacking with my Blue Eyes White Dragon. Then attack you directly with Ancient Elf. You have 6550 life points left. You hear that Kenshin. It looks like you and I will be having a wonderful ceremony tomorrow," Kenshin was cringing in his seat gnawing away at his fingers.

"I play Fissure and destroy your Ancient Elf. Then I play a second Fissure and destroy your White Dragon. I end my turn,"

"Arrgghhh! You are becoming quite frustrating. I will summon Dunames Dark Witch. Then I activate Luminous Spark raising her attack to 2300. Then, since you have no monsters, I directly attack you life points,"

"I activate the trap card Nutrient Z. Before you subtract damage from my life points I increase them by 4000. After damage calculations I believe that my life points are now at 8250,"

"Once again you make a move to annoy me! Sooner or later I will defeat you,"

"My turn. I activate Dark Hole and clear the field of all your cards. I play Dian Keto the Cure Master, increasing my life points by 1000. Then I summon The Unfriendly Amazon in attack mode. My turn is over,"

"I play two Poison Soul. You lose a total of 4000 life points taking you back to 5250. Then I summon a Panther Warrior in attack mode. My turn is over,"

"My, my, my, my, my. What an interesting duel this has been. You two have been having quite an interesting match. I can't remember ever seeing two duelists of such an equal caliber. This duel could really go either way right now,"

The voice came from the sky above them. It was a dark voice that Yami, Anzu and Rini recognized with a great disdain.

"Kiram! What are you doing here?"

"Calm yourself Yami. Kiram and I are not here for you," A second voice came from the opposite direction. It tailed on the end of a sinister laugh.

"Hiei? You are here as well? What is it you two want, and you better make it quick - the sight of you two makes me want to crush your skull,"

"Such violent words Rini," Kiram began. "This matter actually has little to do with you. If you and the others stay out this, Hiei and I will be gone very soon,"

"Make your case and be gone. I do not appreciate you interrupting my duel!" Runa responded with anger.

"Well. If it isn't Runa, probably still stalking Kenshin. And over there, I do believe that is Lafiel. She has finally found the others; the last of the half-breeds. It looks like the gangs all here. Master Genosa would be pleased to see this," Hiei taunted as he lowered himself to the roof of the tower.

"Genosa? Where is he?" Anzu asked with fury.

"That really doesn't concern you. He's around, somewhere. Now, for what we came for. Yugi, Tea, Lafiel, if you three would come with us, master Genosa would like to see you, immediately. Please, come this way," Kiram sauntered.

"And why should we come with you? It is a miracle that we haven't destroyed you already," Lafiel fired back.

"That is not a concern of ours. He has sent us to retrieve you three and that is what we will do – whether you three agree or not," Hiei and Kiram shot energy rings that wrapped around Yugi, Tea and Lafiel. They were immobilized and held in the air like three freshly bagged game from a hunt. They broke free of the bonds in a matter of seconds.

"That is a child's little trick, Kiram. Not anything that I would consider a threat, unless of course I was two years old," Lafiel snickered.

"Then try these on for size," Hiei shot many more rings out at all of the Rosencraft. They attempted to dodge them all but discovered that it was no use. The rings were following them at every turn. It locked around them and bound them tightly. As they tried to brake free, a surge of energy shocked them into submission. Yami, Yugi, Anzu and Kenshin had managed to avoid the deadly traps. Hiei and Kiram stood on the edge of the building laughing at the scene.

"You like games Kiram, try this one," Kenshin shot several blasts back at the two collectors. The move succeeded in binding them in an equally powerful spell.

"It looks like you two are no longer in any position to be making threats," Yami snarled as he destroyed a pursuing ring with an energy blast. "Now let's see if we can't negotiate an end to this right now,"

"The terms are simple," A voice whistled through the air.

It was soft yet somehow evil and deadly. The voice came from a person whom stood still amongst the night sky. He wore a cloak with a collar that was folded up and reached above his head. It was a cloak that was solid black like the entrance to a black hole. "Hand over the boy and the two girls to me without further hesitation and I will allow you all to live,"

"It is painfully obvious that you are of Nemesis," Yami stated flatly, "Of the two former royal families which held dominion over the inhabitants for a great many years. But you are of the more malevolent and much more blood thirsty of the two. It is evident by the cloak you wear. Your last name is DeVice is it not?"

"Very good pharaoh. I am pleased to see that you indeed do maintain knowledge of your ancestry – as you should. However, if you do not do as I ask then that knowledge means absolutely nothing,"

"I am flattered that you know who I am but I do not yet know for sure who exactly you are,"

"But you do know who I am, in a way. You know my name but hesitate to react. You are partially mistaken. My name is Genosa Maxamillian DeVice III. The Genosa you knew was my father. It was your father who killed him. I am not one to carry on past grudges, so it makes no difference to me whether or not you live. Besides that, you all will be dead eventually. Believe me; I know how to kill all of you,"

"That is a threat I do not care to explore, but it is also one that does not frighten me. You may be the descendant of Genosa II, but that does not mean that I have any fear of you. You see, while you may be powerful, you have no idea of what I am capable of,"

"But I know how to exploit your weaknesses," he exposed a hand from his robe and waved it once through the air. The spells bonding Hiei and Kiram were broken and they were free.

"Nice trick but I can do it as well," Yami snapped his fingers and the bonds on the Rosencraft were gone as well.

"Interesting. Too bad I am not looking for a battle this day. So I think I will use a little art of persuasion. Here is the first point of persuasion. There is a plane on its way to the airport. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of people here to see the battle Runa and Yugi were to have; maybe even to see the awards ceremony that was to be tomorrow. I wonder if your friend Joey just might be on that plane. Too bad it is about to go down in a blaze of glory,"

He raised a single finger and shot a beam straight through the plane. It exploded in a bright ball of fire.

"Noooo! Genosa! You monster! What makes you think you have the right to do something like that? Those people had no cause to die, especially not Joey and especially not for your sick, twisted pleasure!" Tea snapped at Genosa with tremendous fury between tears.

"Ahhh, young Tea. One of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Sorry to say Lafiel but I could or could not do without you. Your assistance would make things much easier on Tea and Yugi. As a matter of fact, I will be willing to give you all one hour to make your decision. At the very least you must hand over the future pharaoh, Yugi, to me. If you do not make a decision by then, I will take him and the other two myself. I will await you all outside the city in the clearing near the forest. Remember, home isn't always were the heart is. Before I go; Hiei, Kiram. You two have failed me quite too many times. You are undependable and therefore useless to me," He put his hand out and turned it palm down. A short distance below it appeared a small gate. From the gate he pulled a long sword. He made a single swipe with it and decapitated his two minions. A black flame burnt away their bodies, not even generous enough to leave ashes. He placed the sword back in the gate and vanished with a malevolent laugh.

"We have to get out of here!" May exclaimed. "There's a problem. The visual was killed by Hiei's attack but not the sound. Anyone who was paying attention to that duel just heard what we have discussed. We should try to avoid as many people as we can unless we want to try and explain ourselves to everyone we see on the way,"

"Let's go to my house. There are fewer people around there," Yugi said with a very staggered tone.

They rushed down the building. As May predicted, the entrance was swamped with people screaming and shoving trying to get by the front door. The guards were quickly being overpowered. The Rosencraft turned to leave through the already planned route out the back. Their cars were already parked there in the parking lot since the beginning of the tournament. They got in and were able to drive away unnoticed thanks to the rush of people attempting to make it through the front. Their tires screeched loudly as they peeled off and they were away.

The roads were crowded in the opposite direction with curious onlookers clamoring to get to the city, which was still on lock down for the tournament. Once they reached the city limits the going got rougher. The police were now on the lookout for them and were on their way to the tower to get them for questioning. Their faces had been plastered all over the news by amateur video, as well as by known pictures as they found them available, not to mention the television broadcast of the tournament. The hunt – so to speak – was on, and the Rosencraft were top game. It was by pure luck that the checkpoint outside the city had been abandoned for just a minute when they reached it or they would not have made as clean an escape from the center of the city.

They drove the final mile or so to Yugi's house. They had driven in silence. They were at a loss for words about what happened. They went inside the house and closed the door. There were only forty minutes left before they were due at the site chosen by Genosa. As they rushed through the front door of the house, they were stopped cold, like a brick wall flew up in front of them.

"Grand... pa?" Yugi stammered out. His voice trembled awfully. Tea and Lafiel had turned their heads away. Yami and the others closed their eyes and bowed their heads. Yugi's grandfather sat as still as night in the deepest part of winter. His mouth and eyes were wide. His eyes were glossed and distant. The left side of his chest held a gapping hole where his heart used to beat. Blood soaked his clothes and was still dripping from the leg of his pants to the floor in a crimson puddle.

"Yugi... I'm... I'm so sorry this had to happen," Sisi clenched her teeth as she attempted to console Yugi.

"Grandpa! No, it can't be! He never did anything wrong, he wasn't involved in any of this at all!" Yugi was now at the point of tears.

"He only did this to taunt us. He will not get away with this!" Kenshin stated with fury.

"He apparently isn't done yet," Noa said softly. "He left a note;

'Hello my young friends,

I see you have come home. Here is my second point of persuasion. As I told you, home is not always where the heart is, is it? He was very lively for an old man, but still quite feeble - just like all the creatures on this planet - feeble and weak. He didn't want to cooperate so he had to be punished.

You should tell Tea that her parents were equally insubordinate so they too were taught a lesson. It is my third and fourth point of persuasion. You can go see them if you like, but I warn that the sight is quite an unpleasant one - not something that any young ladies who will one day be princesses or queens should be looking at, if you know what I mean.

I imagine that very little time is left for our appointment so you all better hurry up. I advise that you all keep off the streets because there are a lot of people looking for you. It is just some friendly advice.

Your dear friend,

Genosa MAxamillian Device III'

"It is apparently written in blood. This really must be one bad dream. What are we going to do?"

"Mom? Dad? Why? What did he do it for? They... they were innocent!" Tea spoke softly. She was on her knees crying now as Kenshin held her.

"Anzu, Sisi. I want you two to stay here with Yugi, Tea and Lafiel. The rest of us will go to meet with Genosa and end this. I will not stand for any more of this senseless destruction. I have met him for only a short while and already he has become an immense frustration. Let's go,"

Yami's tone was a highly upset one. His energy was racing. He was authoritative and did not seem to be in the mood for discussion; he didn't seem ready to accept any objections but Yugi and Tea did anyway.

"Yami. I'm going with you. You won't change my mind so don't try. It was my grandfather he killed. My grandfather raised me when my parents died in a car crash. He taught me how to play duel monsters. Grandpa was there for everything in my life. I will be the one to see Genosa and make him pay," Yugi was just as authoritative as Yami. The others stood back as the two faced each other.

"Alright then," Yami said after a long pause. "If you feel you must. I do warn you caution however,"

"Where are you going Tea?" Kenshin yelled after Tea as she walked out the door without a word.

"She feels the same way I would," May murmured from the door. "I think it's obvious what she plans to do, so I suggest we follow her. I can't blame either of them for wanting to do what they are thinking. I never had a chance to meet their families and I feel like wringing his little neck,"

"The area is abandoned, correct?"

"Yes Yami,"

"Then let's go and do just that. Hopefully we can end this tonight,"


	3. Chapter 16 - Genosa III

**CHAPTER 16: Genosa Maxamillian DeVice III**

He sat on a rock staring at the moon. His shape there resembled that of a great, black hawk perched, awaiting a victim to pass by for it to devour. His expression to the moon was one of disgust - an intense loathing would be the better phrasing. His eyes were an intense red. His cloak wrapped completely around him. It was as black as a night in which you would see at this spot had the moon not been in that sky. He murmured to himself, "To think that my release would not come to past until that disgusting thing made alignment with those three." He receded into deep thought about what his past had been like because of these people on this planet.

His power would have been guaranteed on Earth and Nemesis had his father, Genosa II, not been done in by Yami's father, Yamiyugi. Genosa II was the supreme ruler of Nemesis. The world had been split for the time before he took control. The conflict began maybe over a century earlier. The world had forever been under the control of a single family. On one side was the family of Genosa DeVice, and on the other, the cousins of the DeVice's, the Liquer, and on the third was Crawford. They were all part of the single family known as Rosencraft.

The Rosencraft were a more peaceful group that had been the controlling faction for as long as anyone could remember. The civil war broke out after the two Rosencraft leaders had died mysteriously. Their death left a gap in the line of succession. All three sides of the family claimed they had the right to lead and that was the war. There were many intermittent leaders during that tumultuous century- none lasted particularly long- each attempting to end the violence but none did so successfully. Genosa I was the only one to be successful. His means however were not justified by the ends. To secure his position as the supreme leader he commenced with a campaign of genocide. He systematically and effectively killed hundreds and glided up to the throne.

The world war left the planet in a state of disarray. To solve those problems, Genosa I decided on a campaign to conquer another planet for its resources. Upon locating a suitable world, the research into eternal life had been started. By all his luck, the closest available planet that happened to be the source of the main ingredient he needed, human blood, was very, very far away. But he found a way to make it seem closer.

The war raged forward on Earth for a great deal of time. He remembered his father telling him the stories about it. However, the war would have been over quickly if not for the overconfidence of the low level commanders that led the attacks, the weak commanders who were too kind to the humans, the commanders whom he still blamed for squandering resources instead of taking the quick, crushing offensive. It came down to this: Had the invasion forces followed orders and taken out the heads of state while disabling the military and defense provisions, the war would have been only a short campaign to last maybe a couple months.

At least that is what Genosa II told Genosa III. Genosa III disagreed however. His theory, put simply, did not even involve a battle. The way Genosa saw it was that they did not take advantage of their superior power. Nemesis was the ruler of the galaxy in which the planet dwelled. Their space battleships and warships were massive and powerful. They dominated the other planets which held living beings. Although the civil war hurt their previously strong hold, they did indeed have a powerful strangle hold that supplied them with an abundance of resources. It was the ruby red gem of the galaxy. To gain control of the first was a tough job through many battles. The second was simpler because of the ability to create better and faster ships. They moved from one planet to the next like a galactic juggernaut. The peoples were kept from rebellion very well, and that was what eventually hurt them.

Earth's role in its own galaxy was much less profound. While contact was made with other planets, it was intelligently decided that contact between them remained down to a minimum. It was eventually discovered that one of the most closely contacted worlds was destroyed by an asteroid collision. The impact clouded out the skies for a long time. To this day that planet remains under a thick cloud with an unstable, electric storm which has continued since that time.

The truth was that Earth had very, very little defense when it came to affairs in outer space. Had Nemesis placed its fleet outside Earth's atmosphere, a single warning shot, a placement of demands, and in only twenty four hours, the planet was yet another colony of the Empire of Nemesis. Desperate people usually find the sole solution that is capable of saving them.

That was the case. The war dragged on over six months allowing the humans' time to try and discover a means to which they will then reclaim their freedom. The colonies in the Necroses galaxy of Nemesis took the opportunity of the weakened Nemesis to launch their own revolution and gain their independence once again. Nemesis lost tons of energy resources as well as production raw materials. The forces attacking Earth loss their large strength and had further trouble because the human's discovery of the shadow duel monsters. The war did drag on for over a year longer. In the end, the Lucifer Hawks were kept from taking everything they wanted.

It was after the war that Genosa's grandfather, overwhelmingly disgusted with the conclusion of this endeavor, devised his plan for what resulted in the birth of Genosa's greatest nuisances at this point. It was an error not entirely the fault of Genosa I. Had Hiei kept up his end of the bargain as they were supposed to then Yami, Anzu, and Rini would be working for him instead. The others would be of absolutely no concern to him right now. The power of the pharaoh was the greatest of all and there was no means of stopping it, unless of course you could duplicate it.

By some twisted fate, his own mother was the one to keep the Earth safe for the past thirteen thousand years. Her name was Jasmine Liquer DeVice. Genosa loved his mother very much. He was always amazed by her intelligence and wit. When Genosa II died, Genosa III's mother was the sole ruler of the Empire. Of all the things he disliked about her was her insistence that the people of Nemesis no longer intervene in the affairs of Earth.

He thought over how much she seemed to feel sympathy towards them, something Genosa could not understand. As the Lucifer Hawks, their destiny was already supposed to be set in stone. They were to be the rulers of the entire known universe, their authority absolute, their control complete, their will carried out with exactness. But somehow on the road to their conquest this dirty little mud ball of a planet found a means of not only halting their progress but decimating their society making them as weak an empire as the colonies they once controlled.

As he thought about all this his anger swelled. His mother disappeared on this planet. He looked on in horror the day large bombs rained from the sky with no sign of stopping. It was like an endless nightmare from which he had still not awakened. Were the nightmare over his planet would not have suffered because of nuclear radiation, his best friends would not have been burnt away as the wicked weapons fell upon their homes, his grandfather and father would not have died because of chemical poisoning, his mother would not have disappeared and left him and his sister to fend for themselves. He would not be on this planet now trying to take it, but to see to what extent they have served him.

His only wish now was that his mother had not loved this planet so much as to go to the extremes she did to protect it; a magic spell so powerful that he highly doubted whether even Yami knew how to break it. A law of magic – another of the things she learned from these miserable beings – held that that the spell was only able to be broken by the three youngest of the most powerful; Lafiel, Tea, and Yugi.

The first step was complete, that was getting out of Nemesis. One of his mother's clever tricks was to place a barrier between Nemesis and Earth. Only the weakest of the race could get through making him far too powerful to make it. The barrier was set to fall once the Earth's pharaoh returned. So as when Yami was born again, risen from his Shadow Pyramid by the next true pharaoh, the barrier fell.

Taking the planet to rekindle the glorious Empire was going to be another challenge. His mother's wit was actually starting to frustrate him. Another powerful spell had to be broken. This spell happened to be one of law. Law on Nemesis, as proclaimed by the king or queen themselves was not to be questioned or revoked under any circumstances. His elders may not be able to say anything about it but he never lost respect for the laws and those who placed them in play. It prevented any child of Nemesis from claiming dominion over the Earth unless they were the legitimate heir to the throne of pharaoh. This is where the children came to play. Lafiel, Yugi and Tea have yet to fully develop their powers so they would be the easiest to control. Yami and the others would do just about anything to get them back if he held them under his control. A simple hostage situation in which all his enemies have to do is surrender their claim to power. If not then the three of them would be more than powerful enough to destroy them since they will be fighting an opponent that will be unwilling to harm one of their own. Having already cut their ties to this world they will be angry and reckless – easy prey for a Hawk.

He stood on the rock head bowed, eyes shut and a wicked smile. He could sense that they were on their way. He would be ruling the universe in a matter of moments. A voice echoed quietly over his shoulder.

"I do believe it is time. W'll now see if this plan of yours works,"

"Yes sister, it is,"

"It is a foolish plan at best. You are underestimating them the same way our father and grandfather did,"

"You know better than to lecture me about the follies of our elders, little sister,"

"Come on!" The voice was indeed childlike and sarcastic. "They have been gone way too long to care about what you do with this planet. As far as I'm concerned this incident ended when grandpa died after taking Obelisk and destroying everything on this planet. She would say you shouldn't be here," She jeered in a superior tone.

"I told you once already sister, do not lecture me about our parents,"

"Fine then, Genosa. You're no fun anyway. I'm going to go and look at the stuff on this planet; I could understand why mother wanted to protect it. To think they are almost where they were before grandpa destroyed most of them. See you back at home," You could hear a childish giggle fade away.

Genosa was by himself again, but not for long. His targets were going to be there in a few moments. His mind entertained further thoughts as he awaited their arrival. It was something he had been planning extensively in his mind over and over again – who best to rule over the planet. His first step was obvious to him. He would have the brightest minds rebuild his own home planet. They would have to clean up the mess they made.

Then they would build him a fleet with which he would take over the rest of this pathetic universe. Who needs a pharaoh, all that this world needs is one capable of ruling with absolute power, and that is the strongest being. He planned to ensure that he lay unchallenged. At the beginning he would leave the Rosencraft but later he would destroy them. They were not as significant a challenge as claiming this planet. King of Games indeed. A game would not save him from complete destruction.

The headlights of two cars came towards him. They were here. It was time to start on the road to greatness.


	4. Chapter 17 - Evanescence

**CHAPTER 17: Evanescence**

The cars skidded to a halt on the grass. The doors swung open and the Rosencraft stepped out. Tea had the most wicked scowl on her face that had ever been seen. Yugi followed close behind her with a nearly equally angry expressions.

"So good of you all to make it here early. As I can see, it appears you have made the wise decision and surrendered what I requested. Now if you three will come over here..." Genosa's grin was dark and energetic.

"Why did you kill them?! My grandfather knew nothing about any of this!"

"As I said, they would not cooperate. All I asked them to do was agree to hand you two over to me. They refused, there was screaming, I tore their hearts out. That about sums up the visit,"

"I will make sure you die for that! Their parents will not pass on without you going to hell first!" Lafiel fumed.

"Lafiel, you have grown very attached very quickly. I promise you that once you all come with me you will understand very well my motives,"

"I think I know your motives well enough, Genosa,"

"Is that so Yami? Why don't you enlighten us then since you seem to be so smart?"

"After your grandfather's failed attempt to take over the Earth he sought to steal my father's power. That is when he sent Kiram to the castle in the Shadow Realm to steal the Shadow Pyramid. While they were on the way to the castle, a foolish general in the Andros region thought it best to destroy your planet so as to never be threatened by you or your kind again. One of my father's associates working as an agent on Earth prevented it and leaked information to him that Kiram was making a move to take the Pyramid. That is when he was caught.

"Your grandfather then started the project Meteor Eugenics. That is how we here came to be. He hoped that once we were born he would be able to control us and have us sweep down on the planet like a meteor, wiping out everything in our paths. He did not know when he was experimenting on people that one of the women he experimented on was the wife of the man who had stopped his invasion. It was when I took the throne that he was able to bring Hiei as an extra accomplice. He much better trusted his own people but knew that a Lucifer Hawk presence would be much more readily spotted than an ordinary human.

"When Anastasia and I fought with the two of them in the Shadow Realm the conspiracy over the Lucifer Hawks was revealed. Several corrupt officials believed your grandfather's promise of world domination and were the ones that helped him carry out his operations on Earth. In a rash and poorly thought out decision they launched that nuclear and chemical strike on Nemesis using secretly developed space technology. I tried to protect Nemesis by casting two spells. One was to seal away my spirit to prevent Kiram from taking my powers and the other was to block your planet from the weapons. I unfortunately failed my quest.

"As I understand it, many on Nemesis died but there were some survivors. Many got sick later because of the fallout. Your grandfather used the last bit of his energy to activate the powerful spell he did that cleared the minds of every being on Earth. Then he used his two Obelisk the Tormentors to destroy the planet killing just as many here as perished on Nemesis. He was hoping that you would take over the remains of the planet but your mother made law forbidding it. She was of the more peaceful royal family of Nemesis; Jasmine Alexandria Liquer DeVice? She was originally of the Liquer part of the royal family until she married your father Genosa DeVice II.

"Listen to me well. Destroying this world, enslaving its people will not solve anything. We are the protectors of this planet and will prevent whatever it is you have in mind. We would be more than obliged to help you rebuild your planet but it will take some time after what you just did back there,"

"Save me your sentimental rubbish. I have built an Empire that nears the greatness of my grandfather and father. The worlds that you made us lose have once again been added to our growing empire. All that is left now is to finish what they started. You may have a lot of strength but there is a major difference between me and you all. I am willing to use much more of my power than you are,"

"Enough of this. It is clear that you are a stubborn and ignorant fool. You've been aggravating me for a long time. I'm tired of listening to your annoying voice so it's time for you to die!" Rini drew her sword ready to attack.

"Wait Rini. We don't want to start a war here on Earth," Anzu placed a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"There is only one way to do this." Sisi stated. "The rules of the Shadows have set this down and we all know what that is,"

"The rules as set by my father have been obeyed even with our absence so there is no reason that they should be abandoned now. Any challenge to the pharaoh is to be fought in the form of a Shadow Game. As pharaoh I must accept your challenge. You are awarded the privilege, as challenger, of choosing in which Shadow Game we will participate. Make your decision,"

"Not so fast there my friend. Maybe you don't understand me," Genosa bowed his head and a mass of Lucifer Hawks, creatures the size and shape of fruit bats but with ashen gray skin, gathered around his back. "I believe I have been requesting the presence of Yugi, Tea and Lafiel. I have yet to challenge you or the others. All I have asked of you is that you hand at least one of them over to me this night. But I see now that you will never do that. Then as I promised, I will take them,"

The mass of low-level Lucifer Hawks attacked in a blinding fury. The Rosencraft jumped back and split up to fend off the attack. From the sky flashes of energy blasts and explosions lit up the night.

On the televisions it was the only thing showing. Since just after sunset when the duel was being televised until an hour and a half later, non- stop the television, radio, internet, every form of media was being dominated by news updates about this seemingly hostile alien invasion. Could aliens have been living on the Earth for years without them knowing? Were they in fact hostile? Was this all just a hoax? Was the government as clueless about all this as the average person? These were just some of the questions that were flying with little new information coming in.

It wasn't a hoax. That plane really was blown away. There was nothing left of it. The identity of the people involved were each unclear, as though they were almost completely hidden. The only ones that seemed to be fully there were that of the one dueling the champion and the girl named Tea. The military police had gone to their homes first to try and get information from their parents and found them dead with their hearts missing. Each was a bloody, gruesome scene.

The two families were discovered to have had little contact with their distant relatives. Very few people around town knew them on a personal level. They seemed to always be distant from everyone. They had recently been seen with some of the group that was caught up in the current conspiracy. Whether they were being forced around or were willing participants was yet another question. They did however seem more like friends than prisoners. Whatever the case was they were wanted by a great deal of people. Every walk of law enforcement got word of the ensuing battle just outside the city and was on their way. The media, as always, was already there. They were broadcasting this battle and had been since its beginning.

"I think I will take what I came for now and be on my way," Genosa stated. He threw an energy blast at Lafiel, Yugi and Tea. They were frozen in the form of a crucifix. May and Noa tried to release them but were shocked as they came close. "Do not even try to escape. If they try to struggle they will get a powerful and painful shock, and so will you if you get near them, much less touch them,"

"Genosa! You'll regret this!" Tea screamed. She was trying to squirm but got a wicked shock. Yugi and Lafiel tried the same thing but to the same ends. Suddenly a barrage of gunfire rained upon them. The military had arrived in a large force and had begun to attack them.

"Anzu, Sisi, make sure that Genosa does not take off with Yugi and the others. Everyone else, we must stop this attack without anyone getting hurt," Yami commanded.

"I can stop them but not killing is not on my priority list. I greatly dislike it when other people intrude on my affairs," Genosa shot a beam through the firing ranks and destroyed half a dozen vehicles and burned dozens more people.

"Genosa! You animal! You've gone too far!" Tea began to try and break free once more. She was shocked very badly by her bindings.

"Tea! Stay calm or you'll get hurt," Yugi pleaded with her.

Rini lunged at Genosa nearly catching him off guard with her sword. He was able to dodge at the last moment. She brought her sword back around and cut through his cape. She continued relentlessly with sword slashes.

The cameras had focused in on this for a brief moment but lost sight of the two. The army was gone. The ones Genosa didn't kill had been disarmed by the Rosencraft. They were now occupied with the Lucifer Hawks that were attacking them. Their numbers kept growing and were beginning to overwhelm the Rosencraft. Yugi and Lafiel tried once again to break their bonds but were severely punished. The energy shock knocked them out. Sisi was near them and was hit squarely in the chest by a rogue energy wave from the bindings.

Tea grew more upset. Her energy began to build. An energy blast shot at Anzu by Genosa had separated the two. In the brief instant they were apart they took notice of Tea's rapidly increasing energy. Tea shouted out at the top of her lungs something in a strange voice. It appeared to be an order and had succeeded in making the attacking Hawks cease.

"How dare you order my minions around like that!?" Genosa yelled with surprised anger.

"Who is he talking to?" May questioned.

"He's talking to Tea. She just spoke in what I think is the language of the royal Lucifer Hawk family. How she knows it is what I don't understand," Runa replied.

"Sodo si!" Tea stated. Her eyes were crimson and distant. She was staring directly at the Lucifer Hawks. They heard her words and immediately vanished.

"What makes you think that I will let you try and ruin my plans. I don't know how you know our language but I will still have what I want," Genosa was near insanity with rage.

"Su ese sou," Tea stated in the strange language once again.

"Me? Die now? You must be joking! You will never be able to kill me!"

Tea raised one finger and unleashed an amazing blast of energy at Genosa. He retaliated with a blast of his own at her. The two shots collided with so much force that the area shook as they exploded against each other. They were all blinded by the light. It was as though the sun had appeared before them. They could not see for an entire minute. When they were able to see again the sight was ghastly. The trees had been up rooted or sent flying into the forest. They were all in a deep crater nearly half a mile wide. The earth had been scorched bare for another half a mile around.

Genosa stood in the middle of the crater holding his left arm. His cloak was terribly tattered and his arm had been obviously wounded. Noa had managed to protect Yugi and Lafiel in an energy shield. Sisi, Anzu, Rini, Runa Kenshin and Yami were at the edge of the crater. Tea was nowhere to be seen.

"This... is NOT... over! I will... be... BACK! You... can... tell... tell... Tea... that I will find her! And… I will... come back... for those two!" Genosa was panting very heavily. He faded away like a ghostly specter. They all were fairly okay, much better off than Genosa. They looked around for Tea but could not find her. Her energy signal had completely vanished. She was lost to them.

"This is one awful night. What do we do now?" Noa kicked a rock in disgust.

"Whatever Tea did weakened Genosa a lot. He will need at least a full day to be ready to take us on again. That buys us a little bit of time," Kenshin stated with light agitation.

"I'm sealing off the Shadow Realm," Yami spoke frankly.

"What!?" Everyone gasped at the same time.

"How? Why? What purpose would it serve?" May asked.

"Genosa may be weak right now but he will still be able to control his subjects. Having his first plan failed he will attempt to hit us at our weak spot. Then he will try and find Tea. We will also be able to keep her from getting to the Shadow Realm. When she attacked Genosa, and I believe Rini and Anzu will agree with me, she did not seem herself. Her attack was at Genosa because he was closest. Had any of us been any closer, we would have been the target, not him,"

"Yami is right. She wasn't herself. All of that energy was very malicious and vengeful," Rini said with a shiver.

"The spell was taught to me by my father but I have never tried it. I'm not sure but I believe that it is a different one than that Genosa I used," The Twin Crescent Moons glowed on his pyramid and forehead. He brought forward his staff and raised it to the moon. He drew a circle in the air with it. A ring of ancient text formed around the circle. The ring expanded across the sky making it momentarily orange before fading. "There. No one can make it between the Shadow Realm and the two worlds,"

"We better take these two and go before we have more unwelcome visitors," Runa stated wearily. "We have a really big mess on our hands. I think that the best thing to do tomorrow is to try and find Tea while we still have a day ahead of Genosa,"

"First we need to make a change of appearance," Yami said. "Runa, you're the Queen of Games and the world knows it and heard you talk to Genosa. They also saw me, Anzu and Rini fight with him. Anyone who sees us will know who we are,"

"Good point. We better change," Anzu and Rini went ahead and completed their fusion. Yami made his transformation to Vash. Runa changed her appearance for the first time since they all reunited. Her eyes turned a pearly dark blue. She added a pair of glasses. Her hair went from light blue to a purple red. She changed into a dress of red, white and black. She was a little bit taller now. "You can call me Asami," she said.

Vash and Kenshin lifted Lafiel and Yugi and they all left in a dull flash. They went to a secluded house on the other side of the city. It was the mansion that Noa's pretend family left to him which meant that they would have complete privacy there. They rested there for the remainder of the night in an uneasy peace.

Genosa had meanwhile returned to the throne room of his castle on Nemesis. He was leaning on his right trying to keep the pressure off his left arm. He was in very bad pain as he was cursing Tea and the others under his breath.

"Hey Genosa. Looks like things didn't go so good, huh?"

"Go away, sister. I am injured if you can't see. Tea's strength is exponentially higher than it should be. She reached levels in that instant which Anastasia never did. I will need some time to recover. I will make them pay. Make use of yourself and send out a mass of those low level grunts to do as much damage as they can to the Shadow Realm,"

"No can do big brother,"

"And why is that?" he asked, very annoyed.

"Yami sealed it off. No one can get in or out,"

"Damn him to hell! It doesn't matter. Tea lost control back there and left. I doubt that she has a very clear memory right now. She is wandering around on Earth somewhere. I want scouts out there searching for her. Those fools will be resting tonight. They are counting on my being out for at least a day so we cannot afford them that extra time to find her themselves,"

"I thought that you wanted Yugi and Laifel also?"

"They are no longer of priority. Tea's proven to be quite powerful enough on her own. If we can get her then she will be able to destroy the others for me. I must rest so that I can heal myself. I am leaving you to carry out my orders until I have healed, sister,"

"Sure thing Genosa," She left him to himself. He passed out there on his throne into a deep sleep. The wound on his arm began to heal itself as he napped.

He was startled when he was awakened by his sister. She greeted him with her usual tone. He was anxious to return to his work. He wasn't at all happy when he discovered he had been asleep for a little over a week.

"What do you mean you let me rest for a week?"

"Calm down. Your wound was very bad. She really used a powerful blast. Your arm is still recovering so try not to move it too much,"

"And what of the plans for Earth?"

"Well, the Rosencraft have not been hunted down as of yet. But, I do have good news for you,"

"And what, dear sister, could that be?"

"If you're going to act like that then I won't tell you,"

"I'm sorry. This whole thing is getting to be too much trouble. It should all be over by now,"

"This should cheer you up. I've found Tea,"

"If this is a joke sister then it is not the least bit funny,"

"I'm serious. You can go get her right now if you want,"

"Then let's go. Get me the item. It will be powerful enough to make her obey my every command no matter how powerful she has become. This is a glorious day for the Empire of Nemesis,"

Genosa stood from his seat. His sister left to retrieve the item he requested. He touched his arm gingerly. His sister was right; his arm had healed for the most part but was still very much not suited for battling with. She returned and handed him the box. It was a wooden box about five feet long and one foot wide. There were a number of symbols carved onto the box, the carvings filled in with black paint. He gave a maniacal laugh and vanished with his sister. They went to an area in the forest. There Tea sat half asleep against a tree. Genosa's approach raised her from the edge of sleep.

"What do you want?" she asked as though she didn't remember who he was.

"I'm here for you of course, Tea," He shot three binding energy rings at her and froze her in place. "I suggest you refrain from trying to break free, you do remember what happened last time you tried that,"

"What are you talking about? I never saw you before,"

"It's okay my dear. You were lost but I have found you. You will be safe with me,"


	5. Chapter 18 - The First Night of Death

**CHAPTER 18: The First Night of Death, The Revenant**

Genosa DeVice III captured Tea and whisked her off to Nemesis, the mostly barren planet which held a sinister yet comforting glow, right? Wrong. The truth was that the surface of Nemesis could easily be compared to Earth, with some minor advances. The horrible world that Genosa painted was mostly false, and the reason behind it would not be revealed for some time.

"Tea, I welcome you to my kingdom. I have no doubt that you will come to love this place,"

"You're nothing more than a demon! Release me at once you jerk!"

"Such harsh words, my lady, are not necessary. It is clear that you simply need re- educating. Yami, Anzu and Rini, as well as the rest of the Rosencraft, have corrupted your mind. No fear my queen; I shall make the truth known. The first step is for you to take this sword," Genosa extended his hand and an elegant sword materialized in his palm. He took a step forward and offered the sword to Tea.

"Why should I even listen to anything you say? I should just ignore you!"

"The fact is you have nowhere to go. I am the only one who can return you home. Your "friends", and I do use the term loosely, won't come for you for fear that I will allow the invasion of Earth. Besides that, I have no intention of harming you. That is why I offer this sword to you. If you at all feel threatened, you will have the opportunity to retaliate in an appropriate fashion. So here, take it and we can continue our discussion with you in comfort,"

Tea slowly reached forward to finally take a grasp around the sword. As she did a flush of energy raced up around her. Genosa took a step backwards and admired the scene with a wicked smile. Tea released a blood curdling scream as the wave of energy continued on. There was then a ball of light that engulfed her body. It burst in a blinding flash with a strong wind that blew across the dusty and rocky land.

A seemingly different person was kneeling on the ground where Tea was. Her hair was longer now and black rather than Tea's short brown. She also wore new garments; a long velvet dress of crimson red, slit on the side beginning at the hip. Over that she wore a silk, translucent, red, long shawl.

Once the woman rose you could see that it was indeed still Tea. Around her neck she still held her Shadow Item. But there was a visible change in her, beyond the new clothes and hair. She had a very frighteningly wicked smile, a smile that was filled with anger and vengefulness, unlike anything seen from Tea before.

"My queen, I hope that such a quick rush in your power increase was not too difficult. If so I apologize,"

"There is no need my lord. It was nothing,"

"Then do you know your mission?"

"Of course. I will return to Earth and destroy the Rosencraft, a simple enough task. Then you and I shall rule the three worlds together for all eternity,"

"Very well. Go forth and eliminate our enemies Queen Tea,"

"As you wish my love, King Genosa,"

Tea then vanished. As she did, Genosa laughed loudly to himself as he welled with joy at having what he believed to be the last piece needed to gain the control he desired. A voice came to him again.

"Genosa, are you sure it's wise to leave such an important matter to her after she only just now came to power moments ago?"

"Do not worry, Lynette. The Rosencraft will not willingly kill a member. They will likely just surrender to me. If not, then our queen will have no choice but to dispose of them once and for all,"

"You're very confident brother. I can only hope that your optimism does not go unwarranted,"

"As I have already said sister, there is no need to worry. This is only a single of my ingenious plans. Should this one fail there is another awaiting our adversaries. Besides that, I have complete faith in the Sword of Death. It raises the users' power exponentially and allows them to kill anything I so choose. Tea is now a full Lucifer Hawk under my complete control. It is perfect,"

"Brilliant as always, Genosa. What we have worked towards for so long is almost in our hands brother. It won't be long,"

"That's correct, Lynette. We shall finally rule over all and there will soon be no longer anyone who can stand against us!"

As Genosa and Lynette reminisced in joy over their perfect plan, Tea arrived back on Earth. She scanned in all directions trying to pick up the distinct but hidden energy signals of the Rosencraft. Her malevolent smile turned to the unhappy frown of a little child. She turned to see a small village. Her grin returned. She kneeled to the ground. At that, a stoat, mink, and sable, each with fur of pure snow white, stealthily approached her side. She knelt down and petted each one with her index finger. The animals looked up to her affectionately.

"Ah, my pets. I want you to see if you can find any of the ten energy signatures. If you don't find them then gather the people in that town to the town center. Now go on. And here, a little treat before you leave,"

The animals sniffed her hand. She opened her palm to reveal three pellets. The animals ate and then ran off for their mission. Tea slowly walked forward and faded out. In about five minutes time the population of the quaint town were merging onto the center. Ahead of them were Tea's pets. Standing in wait patiently under the shadows of the clouds obstructing the light of the crescent moon was Tea. The townspeople loudly gave chase to the three small animals. Once they came near Tea, the animals picked up speed and ran up Tea's side onto her shoulders where they perched themselves. The crowd of dozens of people came to a stop. A man stepped forward.

"Excuse me but do these three belong to you miss?"

"And what if they are mine, sir?" she asked in a mocking tone.

"Then you owe us some money. Your little pets have destroyed and pillaged our town creating an amazing amount of damage for such small creatures. If they're not yours then turn them over to us so we can dispose of those wretched vermin once and for all,"

"You should learn to keep a more civil tongue when addressing your queen. Continue speaking to me in such a manner and you may not be able to speak ever again,"

"Lady, you have lost it. Either you pay for the damage or hand over those beasts."

Tea raised a finger at the man. A red bolt of lightning shot from her finger tip and struck the man. A smoldering mass fell to the ground. There was nothing left of him but his skeleton. It smoldered with all the flesh and even organs burnt away to nothing. The crowd could do nothing but watch in horror. When they tried to run away, Tea threw up a wall of energy, encircling them and trapping them there.

"That's really too bad. He was in such a big rush to die. You can't say I didn't warn him," she laughed boisterously. "But let us get to my reason for coming here. You, on the end. Come over here. Don't be shy, I just have a question I want you to ask your people. If you do as you're told you won't end up like him,"

"Yes ma'am?" the young boy asked, trembling as he stepped forward. He looked to be no more than maybe ten.

"Alright. I need to know where Runa, Rini, Anzu, Yugi, Yami, Noa, Sisi, May, Kenshin or Lafiel are. You only have five minutes to solicit that information. You better hurry,"

The boy ran to the silent crowd and began the pressured interrogation. After the time nearly expired the boy returned to Tea.

"Ma'am, no one here has ever seen any of the ten you named with the exception of Runa but not since the end of the tournament in Crystal Point City,"

"Very well. First tell me if this is everyone in your town,"

"Yes it is ma'am. The only other citizens were the reserve army special operations division. They were called to a city to the north of Crystal Point by about fifty miles,"

"What for?"

"They had to investigate what they were told was a strange incident. They won't return for at least a week,"

"Are there any other interesting things in the news as of late?"

"W-Well the incident I told you about ma'am is only one of dozens stretching across the country, but I don't really know what you mean by interesting,"

"Thank you. Now go and ask your people if they have heard of Hinoki, Vash, Sakuda or Kaede. You will only have four minutes this time,"

The boy ran to the crowd in a mad dash. Thoughts of what his punishment would have been if he were late raced through his mind. Tea rose in the air slightly and crossed her legs as though sitting in some invisible throne. Her little pets now rested in her lap chewing on some more of the little pellets. The boy returned to her in what he was sure was more than four minutes.

"Ma'am," the boy said nearly out of breath. "None here have heard of the other four you've asked about. Can I ask what this is all about?"

"You're very inquisitive aren't you? Let's just say that they are seeking to usurp – take away unfairly – my throne. I am trying to find them first to settle the issue. I truly have been here too long though so, goodbye,"

Tea rose high into the air, pets still in her lap. The clouds had finally parted to display a crisp, clear sky. The sky was dotted with stars that twinkled like the stars you imagine in fairy tales. The moon was very bright in its crescent. The outline of the rest of the celestial body could be faintly seen. It was still and silent. Tea stretched her right arm outwards and down towards the town. A mind numbingly large and powerful blast erupted with a fury, scorching the ground below. Everything was gone. There was no trace that a town ever existed here, not even a piece of stone or a couple of bones. All the buildings were razed and turned to dust the same way every other thing that you could imagine standing there a moment ago.

Tea looked down at her handiwork and laughed maniacally. Her laughter echoed loudly in the dead of night without the background noise of people or the sound of burning rubble and debris. She vanished, leaving the town at the end of the forest gone. Nothing more than an empty, small desert now occupied the area of that town known as Koto, the military outpost only a couple miles from Shinjoukou.

Tea reappeared outside Shinjouku. It was a large city with at least ten million people, one of the most prosperous cities in the world.

"Alright my pets you must stay here for now. I would hate for you three to get hurt in there. This should be more than enough food for you until I return,"

She turned and walked into the city. She continued on until she reached the tallest building in the city center. It was a building with a pentagonal shaped footprint. Tea leapt straight upwards landing on the top and capturing the attention of pedestrians and passersby below. She then sent out a telepathic message.

"Attention Shinjouku. I am Tea, the queen of this world. You do as I say and you shall all be fine. If not then you will all suffer. I know, being the simple minded fools you are, you are likely trying to ignore me. You think I am a crazed lunatic. Let's see… Look to the office building in the northeastern sector of the city. Now say goodbye,"

Baffled and in disbelief, many of the people did in fact ignore her words sure that it was a loudspeaker somewhere, not a voice in their head. Then the office building Tea was referring to exploded sending debris in all directions.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, you can prevent this from happening again. I am looking for ten people. Their names are Yami, Anzu, Rini, Sisi, May, Yugi, Kenshin, Lafiel, and Noa. They may also be going by the names Anastasia, Hinoki, Vash, Sakuda, and Kaede. You all have exactly one hour from when I finish speaking to locate them. Even if they are halfway across this planet, if you contact them, they will be here in seconds. Once you have located them you can find me at the top of Shinjouku Tower. I will be waiting but remember, you only have an hour. Have a pleasant evening!"

Tea sat ominously on top the tower awaiting a reply from the now panic stricken city. The people ran wildly through the streets trying to find a means of escape from the city. With only half an hour until the deadline, the emergency attack force was scrambled at full strength. For a city like Shinjouku – a powerful city in its own right – this included a large infantry battalion, a small tank division as well as a helicopter squadron of about five of the most sophisticated helicopters available. This strike force converged around the tower and around Tea. They gave her three warnings to surrender before declaring that they would use force. Tea remained in her position as though she never heard a word of what they said. They opened fire with enough power to kill at least a full battlion.

The tower rocked violently from the blasts. Steel and glass from the building fell as the barrage went on. After a full minute the firing ceased. They waited for the smoke to clear but had absolute confidence that the supposedly alien threat had been neutralized. The cries of joy were followed by horrific screams as a beam raced forward from the smoke taking out the entire tank division. When the smoke cleared, Tea stood arms crossed, not a scratch on her and a very vexed, highly irritated look across her face.

Tea brandished her sword. She leapt up and, in a single swipe, took down all the helicopters. In an instant she was on the ground slicing away the infantry. Like a phantom she moved between the ranks while avoiding the gunfire. Before the destroyed helicopters could hit the ground, all two hundred fifty soldiers were killed. She raised her blade licking it clean of the fresh blood before returning it to its home in its sheath at her side. She returned to the air. High above the city she once again extended her arm towards the ground. With a blast that dwarfed the one used not yet an hour ago, Shinjouku was now gone as well.

With the land cleared, Tea proceeded to raise from the ground a magnificent castle. Once complete, it was highly imposing yet somehow inviting. Tea returned to the ground joined instinctively by her pets. They scurried up her side and perched themselves on her shoulders. Together they entered the castle where they would rest for the night.


	6. Chapter 19 - La Reine La Veut

**CHAPTER 19: La Reine la Veut**

It was early in the morning about a week later. Yugi, Vash, Hinoki and the rest of the Rosencraft were around one hundred miles outside of Crystal Point. They were camped outside in the forest. Kaede had just returned from a nearby town with the current newspaper.

"Everyone, we have a really big problem,"

"We kind of already have a big problem. How could things possibly get worse?"

"Trust me Lafiel, they've gotten worse. Tea is back,"

"Well that's great news Kaede!"

"No its not. She is responsible for wiping out at least three cities in the past week, two in only an hour or so. She's looking for us, and not in a good way,"

"Which two cities?"

"Koto and Shinjouku, Vash. It's not a good sign. I'll read the article if you like,"

"Thank you,"

"Okay,

'According to previously withheld intelligence gathered from sources across the nation, two major cities were destroyed in the past week.

In apparently related attacks, the cities of Koto and Shinjouku were mysteriously wiped out. Early, unconfirmed reports suggest that the attacks only took a minute to conclude but were of a strange degree.

"From what we see here it was as though the city never existed," commented scientist Dr. Ken Osaka who is working on the site where Koto once stood. "There are no craters thus ruling out a missile attack and as far as we know, there are no survivors to tell us what happened. The only one who might be able to clarify this situation would be the one who did it."

Koto was the military's Special Operations of Defense (S.O.D) headquarters. Three hundred men and women died in that attack alone. With no remains found, funeral and remembrance services have yet to be scheduled, although all immediate family members have been notified.

Shinjouku was the fourth largest economic center in the world behind only New York, USA, Beijing, China and Crystal Point. Due to a "bizarre" energy field covering the area, no ground forces have been able to enter the site for examination. Helicopter surveillance however tells us that the site appears identical to the one in Koto up until where it is estimated where Shinjouku Tower once stood. An ominous and illustrious castle now stands there. It has been estimated that it would in the earliest take three years to complete a project to the scale this castle appears to be.

Unlike Koto, there were some people who managed to escape before the horrible devastation. One survivor gave his account of what happened in Shinjuku;

"She came out of nowhere. She was just floating there over the tower. All of a sudden this voice seemed to be coming from everywhere. She said her name was Queen Tea. She wanted everyone to take her serious so she blew up an office building. She then demanded that these ten people be brought to her within an hour or she would level the city. I didn't know what was going on but I didn't want to find out. I got in my car and went to the nearest exit of the city.

"I later heard that the defense force tried attacking her but she crushed them. I don't know who those ten are but I have some advice for them; whatever they did, they need to apologize, get on their knees and beg for forgiveness. She is nothing more than a Lady of Chaos. If something isn't done quickly, this may just be a drop in the bucket compared to what she has in store for the world".

He was one of only twelve hundred people who made it out before the destruction. The death toll of Shinjouku stands at an approximate 5.6 million men, women and children.'"

"What are we going to do? If we leave her alone, she will ravage the planet city by city until she either finds us or decides to destroy the entire planet to get to us,"

"You're right Kaede. And we must keep the Shadow Realm closed so Genosa cannot get there,"

"That's true as well Sakuda. Our only choice is to face her. Genosa must be controlling her mind. She'll continue destroying until there's nothing left. Somewhere inside the real Tea must still be around. We can't let the evil being that she's become win. If anyone can get Tea back it's us,"

"I'm afraid Yugi may be right. We can't afford to delay much longer. Too many people have died already,"

"I agree with Kenshin, but our confrontation should not happen here on Earth. If this ends up in a fight, there's no telling what might happen,"

"To go along with Noa's point, Nemesis would not be a good choice either. The same thing could happen there. It would also be too convenient for any of us to be singled out by a mass of Lucifer Hawks. Remember, Genosa summoned level Cs here with little effort. On Nemesis, Tea could likely summon any level at the mere thought of it,"

"A wise observation Lafiel. So here is my suggestion. We do this on the moon. It is the most neutral ground and the only acceptable location,"

"Alright then it is settled. We will go with Hinoki's idea and go to the moon. We will bring the Tea we know back. Since she will be looking for us by energy signals we will need to stop masking them when the time comes. It would also be best if she saw friendly faces,"

"I agree with Vash. Anzu and Rini know Tea a lot better than I do. I hope everything turns out okay. Good bye for now everyone,"

The Rosencraft all assumed their normal forms and teleported to the moon. Meanwhile, Tea was sitting comfortably in her throne in her castle. Beside her, her pets ate their breakfast. She watched them with attentiveness. A Lucifer Hawk appeared before her throne kneeling with its head bowed. It was plain to see it was no more than a class A Hawk. Not human like in appearance or strong enough to be a class S Hawk but nowhere near weak enough to be a class C grunt.

Each Lucifer Hawk belongs to a certain class. Class C is the lowest. These Hawks are highly inferior when it comes to intelligence and strength when compared to a class A Hawk. In addition a class C Hawk is the most abundant due to the ability of all the higher levels to create and control many Cs at a time. They usually resemble large bats with thicker wings and long tails.

Next is the class Bs. The weakest of these is easily ten times stronger than the most powerful class C. As for appearance, it is a difficult thing to explain. They are beast-like with boney growths from their joints. Their numbers are not as great as they once were. They used to be exceedingly common, not so much anymore.

Last to last of those considered as part of the Nemesis system are the As. Much more humanoid in appearance, they can still often portray animalistic facial qualities. Furthermore they tend to retain distinctive features from Class C and B, such as wings and tails.

Finally is Class S. By far the most powerful, they are the rulers of Nemesis. They are unbelievably powerful. They have certain malevolent powers not known to the other Hawks such as mind control. Other than pointy ears and teeth like a vampire, they look just the same as humans. Comparatively, their numbers are very small. They had always ruled over because they have so much more power than the others. They were also the only ones known to have a name.

At some point in the past there was a fission in the royal family resulting in the three families now. It was started due to steadfast differences in ideals for the path which Nemesis should take; the similar path dreamed and taken by Yami or the one being driven forward with the help of Tea now.

This last point brings us to the final Hawk classification, the group outside the system. Knows as class X, there are only eleven known beings in this class. It is impossible to tell them apart from a normal human in terms of appearance. Before I go any further, you should know that these beings are the eleven members of Rosencraft; Anzu, Kenshin, May, Noa, Rini, Runa, Lafiel, Sisi, Tea, Yami, and Yugi.

Class X Hawks are not really Hawks but are not really humans either. They hail from both worlds as part of a horrible incident in terms of the way it was carried out but may turn out to be the saving grace of Earth and Nemesis. They normally appear like any human. This is rarely the case when they enter battle. Within class X are several levels. Level one will be the only one discussed in detail here being that none have ascended beyond it yet.

When in battle, an X moves closer to the Lucifer Hawk end of the spectrum, until a point. You can always tell this by their eyes. Normally one of a wide variation of shades of blue, the eyes of an X turn a vicious, fiery deep red. As far as intelligence they are unmatched. Their speed and strength are unprecedented. It would take a very highly trained class A Hawk to even challenge an X willing to do battle.

The weakling that was the class A Hawk remained on its knees for some time before Tea even acknowledged its presence. She glanced at him and gave a sigh.

"What is it you want?" Tea demanded.

"I apologize for disturbing you my queen, but you had requested that you be informed once any information surfaced having to do with the Rosencraft," the Hawk said with slight irritation.

"Really, then you aren't an idiot who is only here to irritate me. You are dismissed, get out of my sight," she responded calmly.

"But, your highness, I've not told you of the news concerning the Rosencraft,"

"Do you mean to say that you are questioning my command? You dare talk back to your queen? That's a very naughty thing to do,"

Tea's eyes glowed brightly. Suddenly the Hawks body flew into the air. As Tea's eyes drifted from side to side so too did the Hawks body with great violence. It screeched pleas of forgiveness for questioning her. Whether finally hearing its plea or just growing bored, Tea finally dropped him to the floor.

"Now, you are dismissed. You cannot count on such a compassionate response next time. I do have a use for you however before you leave. Tell him I will accept his invitation and see him in a week. Now go before I change my mind and destroy you,"

The Hawk scrambled to its feet. It bowed and left immediately. Tea drew her sword and admired the blade as the light reflected off it.

"What a truly magnificent blade this is. I cannot wait to test it in a true challenge," Tea reminisced as she sat. She gave a deep sigh and continued. "I can't help to do much other than writhe in extreme, agonizing, excruciating, fierce, exquisite, vehement, fervid excitement! It's incredible! I'm quivering with anticipation for the coming meeting! One week, seven days, 168 hours, 10,080 minutes, 604,800 seconds. It's too long! If Yami thinks I will sit idly and agree to do nothing, he is sadly mistaken. He has some nerve making me wait so long! Sigh! Oh, well, I guess I ought to find some other way of occupying my time. Now, let's see. I know; I'll go shopping! If I'm going to rule the three worlds I have to look good. I would totally freak if I had to look bad at the time when I eliminate all of those who could possibly do any harm to me and finally ascend to the throne with my darling husband. Fantastic! Just fantastic! In a very short time I will rule Earth, Nemesis and the Shadow Realm. I will kill every last being who ever stood a chance against me. It's so beautiful! Hahhh hahhh hahh hah! They will all be dead. I am going to kill each and every one of them! Hahh. That's too bad for you Genosa,"

The mink, sable, and stoat had climbed onto Tea's shoulders as she concluded her soliloquy. Her malicious, virulent, frantic laughter filled the room as she exited in an evanescence state.

As the week progressed, reports raced across the world of wild, unexplainable attacks leaving cities devastated and thousands dead. All of the attacks were attributed to the Lady of Chaos. The only connections that could be found were that the attacks seemed to originate from the largest shopping center in the area. Rumors have it that she was shopping and decided to destroy everything in a two mile radius if she didn't find what she liked. As a precautionary measure all major malls and shopping centers were evacuated and closed down after the third day of attacks. This step however did not prove very useful. The death toll continued to rise on into the last of the seven days. It was the late evening and Tea was exiting a burning city with a wicked smirk on her face. She stepped into a small clearing surrounded on all sides by tall trees.

"Are you ready to go my king?" Tea said with an undetectable sense of disgust.

"I see your skills have been improving very well my darling queen. Yes, let us go off and begin our conquest of the worlds," Genosa replied happily.

Together they instantly transmitted themselves to the surface of the moon. Barren and still, the celestial object somehow maintained a lively, life-full ambiance. They stood at the edge of a plateau with the Earth bright, high over their shoulders.

Forty yards away in front of them, standing on a lower plateau, was the Rosencraft. They stood together with warm smiles on their faces.

"Hello. You know, it was very rude of you all to have me wait so long before coming here. But it was nice of you to gather here so I could take out all my enemies all at once," Tea jeered.

"Tea, we have only come here to talk to you. We haven't come here to fight," Anzu replied.

"Okay. I guess we can talk before you die,"

"Tea, we want you to come back to us. We want the old Tea to come back to us," Kenshin spoke.

"What an absurd proposition. My queen and I will crush you and together we shall ascend to our rightful thrones," Genosa replied.

"There has been a slight change in plans my love," Tea retorted in an extreme degree of sarcasm.

Genosa stepped back in surprise. "What exactly do you mean?"

"I mean I have plans for grasping unchallenged power but you're not in them," Tea spoke these words as she drew her sword.

"This is not a very funny joke Tea," sputtered Genosa as Tea analyzed her sword.

"Sure it is. Part of the joke is that I'm not the real Tea. The other part is the irony. I'm just about the opposite of Tea yet we both want to kill you. Don't worry about it Genosa, Yugi is a fabulous replacement. I just don't like you the way Yugi and I like each other. Too bad for you isn't it?" Tea danced around happily as she continued to speak. "So fantastic isn't it?! I'll kill you Genosa, then I will kill the Rosencraft, and if the real Tea shows up then I will kill her too, and Yugi and I will get married and rule for all eternity as the strongest entities in the cosmos. Cosmo Queen. I like the sound of that,"

"Not again! Guy's, I think that lady has lost it! The situation is getting worse by the minute," Runa spoke with a small quiver and frustration in her voice.

"But what do we do?" Yugi began, "We can't kill Tea,"

The Tea that was before them danced around as though she were off in her own little world somewhere, singing to a demented melody of death. To add to the danger she did this with sword drawn. She danced around and around in a frightening rhythm freely swinging her sword apparently completely oblivious to her surroundings. Tea's dance came closer and closer to Genosa who was still stunned from the latest developments. He continued to step backwards while mumbling to himself.

"This cannot be happening. My... my strength, it's going away. I can barely move. What has this wretched wench done to me?!"

Tea did a pirouette with her sword fully extended. The blade connected with Genosa. His head rested on the tip of the sword. The look of deathly horror frozen on his face, his dead lifeless body still standing in the absence of gravity, his blood drifting in globs; the chilling, maniacal laughter of the Lady of Chaos, the woman of intolerable cruelty, the evil incarnation of Tea.


	7. Chapter 20 - The True Lady of Chaos

**CHAPTER 20: My Lovely Minx. The True Lady OF Chaos Revealed**

"Let's go ahead and destroy her," Lafiel said bluntly.

"Destroy her!? You can't be serious Lafiel! We can't kill Tea," Yugi reacted with shock.

"Didn't you hear what she said? Trust me Yugi that is not Tea. That person, if you call it that, may share Tea's looks and Tea's voice but it is not her," Lafiel answered back.

"Can we be sure? We cannot afford such a gross error," Yami spoke with a deep bass in his voice, only the second time in the last month.

"Long ago when I was being hunted by Genosa I, as a reflexive action I subconsciously created offshoots, near mirror images, of myself. Involuntarily, each was like me in every way except in terms of strength and personality. This is only a Soul Fragment created as a defense by Tea from when we fought Genosa III. You can tell because, although remarkably close, its energy signal is different from Tea's. My guess is that when Genosa III found her, like us, he thought it was the real Tea,"

"Very good, Runa, you figured it out; most of it anyway. You see, this is no ordinary 'fragment' as you call them. I much prefer to call them shadows, flickers is okay too. This particular shadow is actually my own little creation. She is a fusion of multiple shadows my idiot brother's little toy found when looking for our niece.

"But how rude of me; my manners are just awful to sit here and talk on without first saying hello to my family. I'm sure you all have no idea what I'm talking about. You have no idea just how closely related we are,"

"Enough games! Who are you and what exactly is it you're talking about!?" May demanded fiercely.

"So impatient, so very impatient… well I will be delighted to explain my dear. First, Tea, you can return to Nemesis or your castle and have a nice rest," Tea shot a glare towards Yugi and friends before vanishing in a hanging vapor with her blood curdling cackle in the atmosphere of the moon.

"Now, why don't you introduce me? I mean, it's not like we're total strangers,"

"Lynette… Liquer DeVice… Genosa's sister," Yami strenuously stated, as if he hated the idea of even saying her name.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," the blue haired, red eyed young woman replied with a taunting flair. "I just want to get one thing straight before we begin this little reunion. I am nothing like my brother Genosa. I despised him and my father. They were selfish fools who deserved nothing more than exactly what they received!"

"You may be right, but you are their sister and daughter! It is fine to disagree on their actions, but it seems rather harsh to say you out right despise them – and to go as far as to kill your own brother! Have you really changed so much?"

"I suppose you may be right Rini, but that is a moot point. They are in fact dead and will never again return to this world. They are gone! I never have to see those two fools ever again! I am free of them and their ignorance now and forever!"

"And what is it you plan to do with this freedom?"

"A very good question, Sisi. While I consider my father and brother to be idiots, I will continue their work – in a sense anyway. Allow me to ask you all a question of my own; do you believe in vampires?"

"What does it matter?" Noa asked, biting at the question he already thought he knew the answer to.

"I suppose it doesn't. The truth is that I was only curious. They are nighttime creatures who are vulnerable to sunlight, mostly immortal, drink blood and wield many a useful magical powers. Are you getting where I am going with this?"

"I have learned a little about these so called children of the night. No I don't get your point, but I'm sure you will be telling us anyway,"

"Yami, is that a bit of anger I detect in your voice – and to me of all people? I guess I can't blame you. You probably think that I'm an evil person for killing my father and brother. Well, to understand you would first need to understand a few other things.

"Lucifer Hawks have lived on Earth longer than you know, in greater numbers than you know. It's just that they have done a fairly decent job of maintaining their identities as a secret. Your father Yami – my uncle the great Yamiyugi – was a Lucifer Hawk,"

"We know that already. Get to your point!"

"That's brash of you Rini. I want to take my time.

"As I as saying, after you momentarily delayed Genosa I's plans he decided to take a break, seeing as the key to his plans were now out of reach. When my father Genosa II foolishly erased everyone's minds, we were forced to go into seclusion for his plan of remaining hidden until he could eliminate humans. The effect of the immortality treatment he developed for the Lucifer Hawk population meant they were mostly immortal, but the effect didn't last. He had a theory that an occasional dose of human blood was required to maintain the effect.

"Ooohhh! What a spectacular feeling it is. It's a grave injustice to try and put words on how marvelous the taste of human blood is. Such a rich, velvety texture of warm human blood has been rare since my first taste.

"When thousands of humans died in those days it was exquisite. Today, such a panic lasts only long enough for some fool to step forward and make some bluffed answer. Back then, the foolish things they did to stop something they knew nothing about… the third of the population reported to have been killed was mostly the result of horrendous speculation and rushed, reckless decisions. Personally I find it hilarious,"

"That's great and all. Glad you enjoyed yourself but that doesn't explain what you want,"

"I would appreciate it if you did not take that tone with me Noa. When you do I get the sudden urge to snap your neck. You should see yourself as lucky that I am in a good mood otherwise I would have. But I will, however, answer your rudely presented question.

"As I stated before, I am not like my brother. My goal is not to kill the humans. I'm not here to commit planeside. My purpose is to start a reformation, a revolution of human nature with the objective of ending the plague that is ignorance and greed. Humans will become creatures of the night as we are, vulnerable only to my own will.

"And we can't forget Tea's role in this either,"

"What do you want with Tea!?"

"It's simple. Through the line of succession she is to be queen and therefore controls the servants of death. What exactly are the servants of death? You'll have to figure that out for yourselves. When I locate her I will tell her what I have told you all. I will bring her to this side and a new generation of Lucifer Hawks will descend and once again rule. I could just as well destroy you all where you stand but there is no need to. It would be a pointless gesture. Once it begins there will be no way of stopping it,"

"You can't do this. It's just wrong. There are too many innocent humans on this planet to justify your plans. You're repeating the cruel actions humans already have!" Yugi pleaded.

"Funny thing is that I don't see it that way – and in this situation you're opinions don't matter. But the thing is that your assistance would be greatly appreciated. If your opinions change, you know where to find me. As for me, I will not bother you all. You can live as you wish and I will not do anything in an attempt to get rid of you,"

Before the Rosencraft could react she was gone. Her voice drifted in the void of space. As it faded it left the name she neglected to mention. Few questions were answered and so many still remained. The questions floated above their heads with the weight of an armored truck filled with gold.

It took a while but the Rosencraft finally left the moon. They went home – their true home. For the first time in some months they reopened the path to the Shadow Realm – off to the fabled castle of dreamed elegance – to decide where next their attention would be dragged. They carried the corpse of the villain, enemy, and family member, Genosa III. There could be no forgiving his actions, yet their better angels didn't want to abandon his body there in the vacuum of space. Quietly, unceremoniously, he was buried in the Shadow Realm.


	8. Chapter 21 - Wandering Through Limbo

**CHAPTER 21: Wandering Through Limbo**

She was wandering for over a month. As she now continued her wandering she struggled to recall where she has been during some nights where all that she could recall was a very faint smell of blood; human blood.

Each night was a mystery to her. She would awake in the middle of the night most often to find herself in a strange bed in an unfamiliar house which seemed to be different each time.

But this night was different – one of those rare nights. She was wandering through a forest. It was a pleasant night. It was a nice temperature; not too hot but not too cool either. The sky was clear as crystal. A beautiful quarter moon lit the forest nicely. There was a lot of life. The soft murmur of a nearby brook was accompanied by the mellow hoot of an owl. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves.

She walked slowly, without a clear destination. Her mind compelled her to continue on the path she was on without knowing where she was coming from or to where she was to go. The voice, her voice, told her to follow this path. She, Her, was Tea.

Tea looked to the sky to gaze at the beautiful moon. She thought for a second she could see something move across the surface but dismissed the thought quickly. She absent mindedly looked at her left wrist. There was an exquisite and obviously very expensive watch. It was gold and heavily encrusted with diamonds. The time was shortly before nine o'clock. Tea attempted to remember where she could have obtained so lavishly elegant a gift but found no memory accessible. Despite her futile struggle to decipher what was happening to her she continued on with her only companions – a stoat, a sable and a mink each of pure, crisp, clean, brilliant white fur. They curled themselves on her shoulders, resting as she gently stroked their soft coats.

Tea was shocked by her own joy. There was just something uplifting about the evening but she didn't know what. Despite not being a real path, the journey through the forest was not difficult at all. As she continued the trees began to thin, heralding the coming of the end of this section of forest. Seeing this did not affect her either way. Her pace was neither halted nor altered.

She emerged from the last few trees and came upon a slightly hilly region. About a hundred yards away was a road. It was an obviously well traveled road as refuse was widely scattered along its entire visible stretch. The four-lane road followed the edge of the forest in a solid black line. There were no turnoff points much less an actual alternate road. Chances were that sooner rather than later the city planning commission would see that as a bad thing and put in some auxiliary roads. The other side was like a scene out of an old movie of the United States Midwest during the beginning of World War II. In the distance, the top of smokestacks could be seen spewing out warm smoke. It was a small town, but the smoke was not what alerted Tea to the fact that a town lay over the next hill. It wasn't the sight of many chimney roofs. She hadn't even seen the faint glow of lights from street lamps and those houses with people still awake.

It was a quarter past nine and she realized for the first time all night that she was hungry. She had not had a thing to eat all day. Her little pets scurried off her shoulders and to the ground by her feet. She stopped walking. Tea raised her nose to the air. A light breeze was blowing from the distant town to the forest. The scent she picked up instantly excited her making her happier than before, if that was possible. Tea's mind began to divide with itself. Part of it was sure of the scent and wanted very badly to get to it. The other half was confused as to what the aroma could be and why it meant anything. The latter was subdued.

The scent was faint, very faint. No ordinary human would have been able to detect that so appealing scent. In an ironic twist, the world's best-trained bloodhound would not have been able to pick out this smell from such a distance. It was in fact the smell of human blood, fresh human blood circulating through the body. Dozens of bodies were in that town which meant gallons and gallons of blood.

Her companions looked at her, then towards the town and then back at her. They squeaked happily and waited for a response. Tea looked at them lovingly and smiled showing her teeth; rather, they were fangs. The canines in her top row of teeth had grown long and sharp, like those of the saber toothed tiger of the last ice age. Her smile, though malevolent due to her teeth, was oddly alluring and seductive.

She gave a sigh and in a gentle voice said, "Yes. When I finish having my meal, I will feed you. Do not worry. I will be as quick as I can." She offered a small laugh and continued forward. The mink, stoat, and sable followed next to her hopping up and down in excitement.

Magnus Decar was the heir to a prosperous family business. The most recent success prompted his purchase of a brand new home on the edge of this quaint town. He was here this night alone to ensure all was ready before his wife joined him in the morning. He was on his way to bed when he was drawn downstairs by the doorbell. As he went down the stairs he thought to himself, "At least I know that works now".

Magnus was a fairly tall man at around 6'2". He had dark hair and brown eyes. He was semi-muscular and looked the way you would expect a multi millionaire, 25-year-old, happily married man to look.

Mr. Decar was concerned as to who would be at his door. His wife could not have been early since he spoke to her on the phone not ten minutes ago. He knew only a few people in the town and people in this part of the country usually kept to themselves much less pay a visit to their neighbors at close to ten at night. It was a very pleasant night, the perfect spring evening. If not for that he would be agitated by such a late disturbance.

Nevertheless, Magnus answered the door. As he grasped the knob, he felt that dread one gets when they are confronted by the police and can only think, "What did I do? Am I going to jail?" He opened the door and was more than a little awestruck.

In his doorway stood a young woman he had not seen before. He thought he recognized her but that thought drifted away very quickly. She was definitely an eye catcher; a young woman of very great beauty. She appeared to have some wealth as her clothes were elegant and looked of the kind of fine silk and cotton that even his wife would hesitate over for the price. She wore a diamond and gold watch which must have been worth nearly half a million dollars for all the diamonds in it, to the point he was all but certain it had to be a fake.

The girl stood at the door smiling politely. Magnus did notice that her eyes were oddly red. His mind then quickly flashed back to the same thought as before, adding a period of approximately one month ago. Once again, the thought was mysteriously abated.

"Hello. Can I help you this evening," he heard himself say. He thought his voice sounded very distant.

"I would like to come in to have a bite, maybe two," There was a slight lust in the young lady's speech.

He wanted to say, "No. It's late and I am about to turn in for the night. I can call a cab for you to take you to town. Besides, if you happened to fall asleep here, my wife would be highly upset to find you come morning." However, he didn't say that. He tried – oh, he tried – but to no avail. He had no control over his speech. Instead, it came out, "Come right in. Stay as long as you want." It was a voice more distant than before. He was not even sure it was his anymore. He wanted to panic but he just could not. For some reason he couldn't seem to do anything except what was expected of him by this strange woman.

She entered the house with a large smile that showed her teeth, teeth that included two long fangs. When Magnus saw this, his heart all but stopped beating. He desperately wanted to run but his feet would not move. His mind fought to get out of there, but his body could care less what his mind thought. He knew it was inevitable now. With absolute certainty he knew that he would be dead in a matter of moments. It was those fangs. When he opened the door and she offered that smile, he caught a glimpse of those two fangs protruding over her lower lip. That, he thought, was when he lost control, and now he was going to die. She was closing in. This strange, homicidal maniac woman was going to slaughter him and spew his bloody remains across his house for his wife to come home to in the morning.

She walked slowly towards him, fangs bared. She wrapped her arms around him. Moments later there was a loud, harsh scream. Tea sank her abnormal canines deep into the neck of Decar. His blood oozed from the two small holes in his neck. For about half a minute Magnus went through stages of first sizzling pain, second of dizziness, third of numbness, and finally… nothing. He was dead, D-E-A-D, dead. All the hope and dreams, all the unfulfilled wishes; they were drained from him with his blood.

Tea feasted on the blood of Magnus as though it were the all you can eat buffet. She held his lifeless body not releasing her grip until she had consumed every last drop of blood. When the last drop of it was gone she licked his neck to ensure absolutely no blood remained. She was still starving. Tea had drained a human completely dry of blood, and it was less effective at satisfying her appetite than pouring oil on a wildfire to put it out. It was an odd feeling for her. It can't be explained how it's possible that her having just emptied of a human body of all its blood was not what disturbed her. It was her disgust for not having been in the least bit filled by this man's blood. What now? Well, there was a city waiting for her. She licked the edge of her fangs getting the very last bit of Magnus Decar's blood.

She left the lifeless, bloodless body on the floor. She walked out the door, closing it behind her. A gentle breeze wisped her dress to the side. Tea closed her eyes and bowed her head. The pendant around her neck glowed a splendid purple of a dark, reddish hue. She was gone in an instant.

At 9:00 the next morning the town was discovered to be empty. Not as much empty as it was lifeless. The first person to notice was Bob Grainger, just an average truck driver for a shipping company. It wasn't often he stopped in this small town but he was the only one who probably would. It was what some would call "His" stop.

At roughly 7:25 a.m., he pulled into his usual first stop at the gas station. He didn't see a single person. He pulled up to one of the islands. He shut off the truck and stepped out of the cockpit. He was a big man with dirty blonde hair. He wore a blue-checkered shirt and blue jeans. His beard was short and rugged. His hands were calloused from carrying lots of packages every day.

He planned on the usual – a cup of coffee and maybe a burger or some donuts. Then he would make his deliveries in town, say a couple hellos and off to finish up any other deliveries. He was considering taking a bit longer than he would need. His last delivery was to Crystal Point. No one wanted to go there since the end of that tournament and massacre about a month earlier and he personally wanted to delay that stop as long as possible.

Upon entering the shop, he was instantly taken aback. Three bodies lay on the floor. He rushed over to the closest body. He went to the neck to check for a pulse. He found two small holes. He went to the wrist instead and found there was no pulse. Bob went to the truck and tried to radio the dispatch to report the situation. On orders, he remained put and awaited the arrival of the police.

Second was Mrs. Katherine Rachel Decar. She drove from the airport fifteen miles out of town. Her family was also of a high monetary status, like her husband's. She grew up in the countryside but moved to the more urban area when she was ten so she could receive a formal education. She was very gifted by this stage – a seemingly infinite family fortune coupled with enough real knowledge to match wits with the best and get any job available. It was like bliss with the addition of a great husband. Not anymore.

At about 7:45 that morning she arrived in the driveway of her new home. She noticed something odd right away. The sun had been up for at least half an hour yet the light in the living room was on. Her thought was, "What a silly thing to do. Are you really afraid of the dark, Magnus?" If he ever were, he wouldn't be, not anymore.

Katherine stepped out of her car onto the driveway into the cool morning spring air. Her long, true blonde hair was tied back in one by a silk floral patterned scarf. She wore a white blouse and a black, knee length skirt. Her face had a natural lackadaisical expression.

She walked to the door. As she touched the knob, a chill went down her spine. She got an unspeakable fear of death as a dreadful poem by Wallace Stevens awoke in her mind. It went,

'Call the roller of big cigars,

The muscular one, and bid him whip

In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.

Let the wenches dawdle in such dress

As they are used to wear, and let the boys

Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.

Let be be finale of seem.

The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream.

Take from the dresser of deal,

Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet

On which she embroidered fantails once

And spread it so as to cover her face.

If her horny feet protrude, they come

To show how cold she is, and dumb.

Let the lamp affix its beam.

The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream.'

It was chilling at the very least. She first encountered that poem when she read _Salem's Lot_ by Stephen King; an inherently frightening thing when one considers the storyline of the novel.

She swallowed very hard. She gathered her courage and turned the knob. The door swung open slowly and silently. Her fears were allayed temporarily by the absence of any peculiar scents, the potent smell of a rotting corpse or the other of blood was not present. She pushed the door open further and her heart sank. Her husband lay on the carpet. She choked a scream at the sight of him on the floor in such a state. He was pale with the most indescribably terrified expression a person could possibly create. Katherine struggled to remain in control of herself but failed. She felt weak and collapsed to her knees sobbing heavily. It was several minutes before she could gather her nerves enough to call the town sheriff. There was no answer. She proceeded, after a great deal of struggle, to locate and dial the county sheriff only slightly comforted by the first voice she heard since leaving the airport some hours ago. The small relief did not last, as she then had to hear herself say that she found her husband, Magnus Decar, dead. The worst part for her was admitting to herself her husband was not coming back.

Such was the case with the hundred or so other people in the small town. Katherine sat in her car. The silence was deadly to her mind and frighteningly real. She was there for an hour now and there was no stir in the town at all. It was as dry of life as the sun is of water. An eerie doom covered the houses like a thick, murky fog. The clear, sunny, warm weather spectacularly masked the vile state that gripped the sleepy suburb. Many a passerby would only suspect that in a few moments cars would be pulling out the driveways and busses stopping on the street collecting children to whisk them off to school. What was left of her sanity, the small morsel that keeps all of us from suicide in the midst of tragedy, was what kept the death toll from rising that day. For a moment, a force compelled her to venture up the stairs of the porch, enter the house where Magnus' dead body lay on the floor covered with a curtain, and continue up to the bedroom at the end of the hall to the left of the staircase. Had she done so, she would have faced the same fate as her husband and of the inspectors that would do so that afternoon. Her mind stopped her from the journey.

Katherine remained in her car openly crying, waiting for what she thought would be just short of a miracle of miracles, to find that this was all just a very awful, horrible, and cruel joke. No such luck. It was Tea that once said, "Life is very precious. Once a person dies, they can't come back." Irony can be cruel. That precious commodity of life, she was now taking away. If her hunger continued, the number would reach two thousand by the end of spring. Two thousand people would be dead, the start of a formidable army. It was half way through spring now and the army was already over one thousand – one thousand to go.


	9. Chapter 22 - Dark Nexus

CHAPTER 22: Dark Nexus

The dark dread of the town gripped him as soon as he entered. Officer Allan Cope was a forty-year-old veteran of the Crystal Point police force. He had started his shift at eight that morning. His job had been miserable as of late. The incident a month ago had people running from their own shadows. As always, when there is a situation that causes some people anxiety, the scum of the Earth take advantage. He had been dealing day after day with cases of little punks who were vandalizing property, attacking people, et cetera. Frankly, he was worried himself. There was some alien species living on the planet for centuries (millenniums he corrected in his thoughts) and now they were seeking to kill off the human race. At least that was what the top brass was filtering down to the people. What a screwed up situation.

Now he had more to chew on set out on his plate. Since the incident of unspeakable horror, about a week after actually, mass murders were being committed everywhere. In some cases, entire towns were left dead. There were only a few patterns and no real leads. He was missing the good old days when you knew that people were killing other people.

He checked the clock on his dashboard. He would reach Wincreek in about five minutes, just before nine o'clock. He went back to analyzing the last mass murders in his mind, sure that this latest incident would be part of it.

The scenes were the same. There were no signs of forced entry. The body had no bullet wounds, no lethal cuts and the coroner's report showed no sign of poisoning, organ failures or bruising. What it did find was there was no blood. The thought made Allan's stomach turn. The victims had no signs of wounds or even injections, the only other way of extracting blood. Complete exsanguinations without the slightest remaining trace of blood outside of the bodies or the appearance of any sort of ritualistic use of the missing blood.

Added wonder came from the absence of any witnesses whatsoever. Who or whatever was doing this was a craftsman. They left no clues to be picked up on; not a fingerprint, not a hair fiber that could be traced back to them, not even a drop of blood – theirs or the victim's – therefore ruling out the chances of a struggle. Despite the departments refrain from commenting, the media had originally claimed that it was the work of those aliens… what were they called again? Yeah, Lucifer Hawks; that was it.

As he saw the house, his stomach began to turn again. Something was wrong with the house now, something more than just a murder scene. What sent a chill down his back was the feeling that there was a force inside the house, but he could not tell if that force was good or evil; it felt like both, and that was what made it feel even worse. His years on the force helped him get a sense for stuff like this. It kept him from walking into a criminal's trap on more than a few occasions.

This investigation would be particularly difficult. Allan knew that at the rate this killer was going it would be only a matter of time before one of the dead was someone he knew. It only came a bit earlier than he expected. Magnus and him were always good friends, going back to Orange Star High School. The guy doing this was going to get it; he was going to make sure of that.

He only met Katherine about six months ago. She was a nice person. He was sure she would be quite distraught. He stepped out the cruiser and walked to her sedan. She had stopped crying now but she was visibly shaken. She was startled by his appearance. He was like a ghost to her.

"Katherine, it's me, Allan Cope," he said somberly.

"Hello Allan," she replied. Her voice was terribly shaky and hoarse.

"I'm sorry about Magnus. He was a great man,"

"Yes… he was. Allan, I want you to be honest. Do you have any idea who is behind all of this?"

"I wish I did. You can be certain that the miserable excuse for a living creature will pay once we find them. I hate to do this, but I have to ask you a couple of questions. The boys from the district will be coming soon and they can be real brash with stuff like this. It would be easier if I told them I already did the interrogation,"

"I understand,"

"Afterwards you can go. Do you need a place to stay?"

"No, the apartment in the city is still mine,"

"Okay, I'll be quick,"

He sped through his questions as quickly as possible. Within fifteen minutes, the district guys had swarmed the place. Allan escorted Katherine back to the airport and arranged for her flight back home. Meanwhile, the district officers were going through the same mechanical, monotonous runs they had so many times before. It was the same two guys; Hunter and Wood. This job was getting to be a real pain.

"Hey, Wood! Where are you?"

"Checking the backdoor, what do you need?"

"Nothin'. I'm gonna go check the upstairs. After that, we can get the hell outta here. I'm really getting sick of this job,"

"Alright, I'll be out by the truck. We gotta stop by the coroner so they can take the body; do whatever the crap it is they do,"

"Check that,"

Hunter was halfway up the stairs when he heard the front door close. It felt to him as though he should not have gone up the stairs at all. In the movies you know someone is about to die because they play that same song increasing in volume bit by bit until the attack is through. He felt as though that music would be playing if he were watching himself in a movie.

But why? It was nearly eleven in the morning. Surely, any killer had half a mind to leave unless they were extremely confident. If they were that confident, logic would dictate that the killer would have killed anyone who came through the door, if they were still there. Why would a murderer even stay in the same town they had wiped out? They had found out at around ten that a couple squad cars had answered another call and found every last person in the town dead. There were several teams out and about doing the routine clean up. Wood and Hunter had been doing jobs like this for weeks now and were looking forward to a nice vacation starting tomorrow; at least that is what they hoped for. Even the big wigs knew that if they kept sending the same people they were bound to go insane. Today, though, they still had to go help out with the cleanup in the rest of town.

Hunter was amazed at how lavish the decoration was for the house. He wasn't sure where to inspect first. "Left to Right," he thought. He turned left and went to the end of the hall. A deathly fright swept over him. He paused for a moment but felt compelled by duty to continue. He reached the door and his stomach turned again. He took a deep breath. He turned the knob and the door clicked open.

It was a pretty normal room. Across on the other side on the room was a window leading to a balcony. Light blue lace curtains were neatly drawn, lightly touching the white carpet floor. A gentle breeze blew in, raising the curtain like a friendly specter. On the right wall was an ebony dresser with a tall mirror. The handles were gold and rose shaped. To the left of the entrance was a sliding door closet. But Hunter saw none of this. His eyes were fixated upon the smoothly polished brass canopy bed; more specifically the form in the bed. A young woman lay there, asleep.

As Hunter slowly stepped back, a snowy owl flew in through the open balcony door. It landed gracefully on the side table. It gave a light hoot. At the foot of the bed three animals stirred. Hunter was unsure what they were but thought the all resembled ferrets, except they were just as white as the owl.

The woman began to stir and rise from her sleep. She turned to face Hunter and smiled a large toothy smile. He looked at her and saw her long, sharp, canines. They glistened in the sunlight like a strange beacon – a warning light of impending doom. Hunter turned to run. The door slammed shut before he could reach it. The noise echoed loudly in the otherwise silent area. Wood jumped with a start and made his way back to the house.

Upstairs, Hunter was frozen. He tried desperately to get moving but he couldn't. Somehow she was preventing it.

"Now who might you be? I usually don't get visitors while I'm resting,"

"I… I… I… I…"

"Can't speak? Alright," She got out of the bed and walked over to him, still grinning, still imposing. A stifling chill went down Hunter's spine. She had worked her fingers around his neck. Wood's voice came up the stairs in a loud bellow. It went unanswered.

"Come over here and sit down, you've been working hard," She walked back to the bed. He followed helplessly, unable to understand why he couldn't go the other direction.

"Now, let's see," she began. "You think I'm the one who committed all the murders. You think I am an alien, a vampire, or both. You would like very much to turn and run. I will spare you the embarrassment of having your other thoughts revealed but they are mildly flattering, I will say that," She was stroking the soft coat of the small animals, which had since climbed into her lap.

"Why don't I bring your friend in to hear this too?" Tea waved a hand and the door flew open. Wood was frozen stiff as a board as he floated into the room and was set down still unable to move.

"Now I'll answer your questions, not that they will be of any benefit to you. Yes, I am the one whom, as you say, murdered all those people. Yes, I am part alien, although not the same green, large headed things you people dream up. I am about fifty percent human, fifty percent Lucifer Hawk; Lucifer Hawks are the aliens. As for the vampire thing, I suppose you could call me that. I go by the name Tea, but vampire is fine. You won't be around long enough to call me that anyway. It doesn't fit as well as you think. That whole thing with garlic and the cross, it won't work on me, I definitely will not die from a stupid stake – not that you two could ever get close enough to use one – or a silver bullet, and, as you can see… I am fine in sunlight. Why tell you all of this? Well, because you asked. Think of it as a reward for actually finding me. At any rate, I need to be on my way but I do crave a small meal before I go. The question is how to kill both of you at the same time. I'm not one to torture people with the sight of others dying,"

Hunter and Wood could do nothing more than continue watching in unparalleled fright. They sat on the floor, backs to the bed, as Tea paced across the floor in front of them counting off the different ways she could kill them along with reasons for not taking each particular method. The minute seemed to last for eons before she announced her decision.

"I've got it! One of you will be placed in a coma while I have my breakfast. Any other way would waste too much delicious blood,"

She snapped her fingers and Wood dropped flat, clearly unconscious. Just as she had done to others the night before, she approached Hunter. She sank her fangs into his jugular and he was gone in a matter of moments. Upon finishing her meal, she made an unseen departure, because there was no one left that could have seen it. Once again she was completely free to wander at will and continue feasting.

The Rosencraft were at the castle in the Shadow Realm. They were gathered in silence in the Dragon's Lair. The Slifers, Ra, Suzami and Selenity rested around them with melancholic glee. There was little to be gleeful about. The peace they had been working for was falling apart and one of their own was unwillingly participating in the creation of the chaos. Lafiel was the first to break the silence.

"Well, what do we know?"

"We know that we're in a decent bit of trouble," Noa mused in passive anger.

"Let's try and concentrate on facts. We have to find a way to stop this before it gets much worse," Sisi said with stressed patience.

"Alright," Kenshin said, "We know that inside Tea right now are two minds; the mind of the Tea we know and the mind of an evil incarnation which manifested itself when her dark powers were pushed too far too quickly. The Lucifer Hawk part of her is in control but the Tea we know is struggling with it and has come through once and awhile. The battle with Genosa a month ago left her with partial amnesia. She hardly knows anything about us or anyone else,"

"And it will take how long for her to regain her memories,"

"That depends, May." Kenshin replied, "Her Lucifer Hawk side, while in control, is suppressing her true self. Her memory will recover slowly, very slowly. It might be years before she does. If her evil side is kept suppressed then it could only be a matter of days,"

"Kenshin is right, but there are more problems than that. Over the month, her attacks have become more frequent. As of last night, she killed well over a hundred people; that's in a single night! That is nearly one thousand in a single month. The more she feeds, the stronger she is getting and we have never been able to track her since she disappeared last month. Her path has been inconsistent and scattered throughout the country," Yami spoke slowly with distinct purpose. It was strange to the rest of them as it had been a long time since he spoke with such royal authority in his voice.

"How much of a threat is Genosa's sister?" Runa interjected.

"It's hard to say," Sisi replied. "She doesn't appear to be too stable mentally, but she is powerful, more powerful that Genosa was. Lynette did seem to be telling the truth. I do believe that she does not intend to interfere with us but do as said and take Earth,"

"And for that she needs Tea. But why?"

"Good question, Lafiel. I wish we knew," Noa said half to himself.

They were all silent again. Anzu and Rini sat with Yugi at the edge of the lake. Yugi was obviously the most distraught of the bunch. He had spoken very little since the incident. You couldn't blame him considering that he knew her better than anyone else. There were signs that he was getting better but anyone could see in his eyes that all that was on his mind was finding a way to save Tea. He had been looking across the lake blankly when a thought came to him.

"I think I know what Lynette wants with Tea,"

"You do? What is it?" Rini replied.

"She said that we were vampires; not _like_ but _were_. She also said that Tea was the one to control the servants of the dead. Vampires are supposed to be capable of transforming their victims into vampires as well. The new vampires are not as strong as the one who controls them but they have an extended life and are virtually unbeatable. Being the one to cause the transformations, Tea has to be the only one who can wake those she killed, as servants,"

"That's true. And with her rate of movement, before long she will have an army of thousands, all capable of extending her forces in her name," Kenshin elaborated with further dread.

"The question is, how much do they each know. If Tea doesn't know she has the power to do that then we will only be hard pressed if Lynette finds her. If Lynette doesn't know about the evil side of Tea then she might be taken down by it when, if, she ever finds Tea,"

"Anzu is right. But now, who do we try to find first? I think the key is keeping them away from each other, so stopping one will hopefully stop the other," May noted.

"So we still need a plan. The question is who is the easier target?" Sisi injected.

"The thing is," Noa stated. "We haven't a clue as to which of them we should seek. That clone thing of Tea was strong enough to frighten Genosa into a stiff target. She took him down with no effort; she was simply playing. The real Tea is likely much stronger since she is using a great deal of her Lucifer Hawk powers. As for Lynette, we can assume that she is just as strong as Tea, if not stronger. We haven't seen her battle or even use her powers but she is capable of masking her energy just as well as Tea has been masking hers,"

"I believe Lynette would be the best primary target. We at least know where she is. A massive castle that destroys foreign objects that approach it is not exactly what you would call secretive," Kenshin continued.

"Then when do we strike," May asked.

"Sooner better than later. We don't want to give her any more time to try finding Tea. Besides, maybe she will have some lead as to where Tea is that we don't,"

The agreement was made not to wait too much longer. The following day they would attack the nexus of Lynette's evil. The castle rested outside Crystal Point City, the former Sancrien Kingdom; a malevolent statue standing prone, ready to lay waste to all that stood before it.

It was also the same destination of Tea. Her evil side was being pulled (pushed was more accurate) to reach the edge of Crystal Point City to attend some unknown meeting. She constantly raised the thought, "Why am I going this way. There are no people to feed on." Each time it was answered with, "It doesn't matter. Keep going. We can't be late." And so she did. Her pets saw this distress in her mind. The snow owl, which wore a pendant in the shape of a 'T' took flight and went on ahead. She took little notice of its departure. She rose from her resting spot by a stream and continued her trip.


	10. Chapter 23 - A Welcome Return

**CHAPTER 23: A Welcomed Return**

Afternoon turned to evening, turned to morning, turned to afternoon, and once again to night. Tea had reached a cliff a few miles from the castle. Even from this distance the castle was large and imposing. She had stopped to look at the castle. She turned to make her way down to the castle when a light appeared before her. The Rosencraft stepped forward. Shock overcame them all as they saw each other.

"Look what we have here! The…" Tea stopped in her sentence. She began to writhe in pain. Her hands clasped the sides of her head. Her breathing became stressed.

"Tea! Tea, it's us!" Yugi yelled running to her.

"No! No! Get away! Stay away from me!" Tea's voice was high and screeching. She was stumbling backwards. "Get back in! You can't stop me!" Her sudden energy release shot Yugi back.

"What's wrong with her?" Yugi asked in grief.

"She's battling herself," Anzu began. "By seeing important people from her past, her memories are being returned. It is the scar left by powerful spells,"

"Can't we do anything to help her?" Lafiel exclaimed.

"I wish there was," Rini said, "Unfortunately only she can fight this battle. All we can do is hope the Tea we know wins,"

Tea continued to writhe in torment. Her high-pitched screaming continued. Her energy climbed radically. It became palpable and shot through the air like thick lightning bolts. An orb of her energy wrapped around her and began to expand in all directions. They all took to the air high above Tea to avoid the bubble on energy. As it expanded, everything in its path was scorched away.

Her wailing increased further. As her energy rose, so too did the size of the orb. Kenshin realized an important fact as they were forced to retreat further.

"Everyone, we have another problem,"

"What is it?" Noa asked dodging a bolt.

"All of this commotion is sure to cause Lynette to send out scouts or guards to see what's going on," Kenshin drew his sword and knocked away an energy bolt heading for him.

As though on cue, a squadron of Lucifer Hawks at class C flew in, already launching attacks. The squadron grew quickly to a great mass of hundreds, maybe thousands. A barrage of energy blasts rained forward.

Lafiel and Yugi put up energy shields, diffusing the blasts. "You mind holding this shield yourself a bit Yugi? I rather not spend all night with these small annoyances,"

"Go ahead Lafiel,"

She dropped her part of the shield that Yugi immediately filled with an extension of his own. Lafiel's earrings began to glow. She shot an orb of energy into the sky. A large gate opened up in the sky. From it snaked her Slifer the Shadow Dragon. It made its way around them, completely emerging from the gateway. Lafiel pointed a finger at the swarm and Osiris answered with a blast that tore through the air like an out of control rocket. Three quarters of the swarm was destroyed. The few remaining Hawks turned to retreat for the castle. Osiris shot a second blast leaving only half a dozen to return to warn their mistress.

"That bought us some time," Runa said, "But Lynette might be next to come after us. We better see if there is anything we can do to get Tea out of here,"

Tea had fallen to her knees. She was still screaming. Her eyes had gone very large and distant. Her breathing was very arduous.

"What do we do now?" Yugi inquired. "We can't stay here much longer,"

"Yugi's right. Let's take her back to the Shadow Realm," Anzu stated. "Those Cs have low intelligence so Lynette may not realize immediately that we were the ones who were here,"

Yami's pyramid glowed to life. Darkness flew from the symbol of the Pharaoh on the pyramid. It engulfed all of them. The next moment they were in the Shadow Realm once more; at the edge of the Great Trinity Lakes of Sapphire.

Tea's energy output was tremendous, sending massive waves well past the center of the lake. The disturbance brought Suzami and Slifer to the scene. Their melancholic demeanor persisted from earlier that day. Suzami gave a faint roar, the same way a dog whimpers when it knows its owner is not well.

Tea's struggle went on. At this point it seemed as though her power knew no limits. It continued to climb higher with every passing moment. Her screaming then ceased, giving the first glimmer of hope that the worst was over and soon they would know of what they must do next. She was now panting very hard. A cold sweat had broken out all over her body. It seemed on the outside that the battle was over, but in her mind Tea was still fighting a desperate battle. She was in a confrontation like none anyone could truly understand. It was like standing face to face with yourself inside your own mind.

"Who are you?"

"That's a stupid question. I'm you, of course,"

"You can't be me. I would never do the things that you did!"

"Don't you mean the things that you did? I am only a part of you. All I did was what you wanted,"

"I never wanted you to kill all those people!"

"Don't get mad at me; if you didn't want those people to die then you should have stopped me,"

"I tried, but why wouldn't you listen? Each time I awoke to find out what you had done, I tried to keep us away from other people, but you just kept taking us back and continued killing. Why?"

"It's what you wanted,"

"What I wanted?"

"Yes. It's all that you have wanted for the past month, even longer. I just finally gave it to you,"

"You're lying! I have never wanted anyone to die for anything!"

"Yes you have. You wanted to get stronger. Ever since you met Yugi you wanted to be strong enough to be near him. Once you saw your parents dead and how upset Yugi was with his grandfather's death, you finally made the decision in your mind that you would do whatever it took to get stronger so that it would never happen to you two again. That is why you nearly killed Genosa. But that wasn't enough for you. You wanted even more power so you woke me to continue increasing your strength for you while you kept your little conscious clean. I must say that I enjoyed it,"

"You're insane. I would never kill innocent people just to make myself stronger. Yugi would never want me to do something like that, no matter what,"

"Tea, you're confused. There is too much getting in your way. You always knew from the day that you met Rini and the others that they would take Yugi away from you and you were right to think that the only way for you to get Yugi was to become stronger, but you are too weak minded to get the power you need. That's why I am going to take over,"

"What are you saying?"

"I'm going to get rid of you, that way Yugi can have the kind of woman by his side that he needs, not some weak little girl who cannot even figure herself out. If that means killing some more people to drink their blood, or even killing the rest of the Rosencraft, then I have no problem with that,"

"I'm not weak and I would never let you continue this. Do you think Yugi would want someone like you who has no respect for lives? You may be right, I may not have done enough to stop you from killing all those people before, but that doesn't mean I can't put a stop to you now,"

"You have got to be kidding me. Yugi is bound to love the new and improved Tea, one that is not afraid to take what she wants,"

"Yugi's nothing like you. He would never tolerate your craving for destruction,"

"At least I will have enough courage to even tell him how I feel. How about you? You have felt the same way about him for years now. Ever since we met Yugi when we were kids you have loved him, yet you can't even say it to his face. You don't even know if he feels the same way about you. You are far too weak, and that is why I have to get rid of you and take over. You know that it is the truth. You are no use to Yugi or anyone. You're just a scared little child who is a burden to everyone around you. The world would be better off without you,"

"Thank you,"

"Thank you? What do you mean thank you?"

"You're kind of right. I have always been afraid to tell Yugi what I thought of him, partly because I was afraid he wouldn't feel the same way, so I was content with just being by his side. Then Anzu and Rini came along and Rini seemed to offer so much more for him than I could. Then Runa and Lafiel came along and I began to feel that I was losing my place by his side. I wanted to be like them so that I could stay by Yugi's side, even if it was for only a little while longer. I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I was afraid that I had lost my usefulness to Yugi, that I was becoming more of a burden to him. I think it was important for me to hear myself say that and so I thank you. Now that I have faced my fears, it's time I did something about them. Even if I don't serve a purpose to Yugi, I will not allow you to make his life any harder than it is. I am perfectly content just staying by his side for as long as I can, even if he doesn't know how I feel about him. You are far too evil a creature to exist so I'll have to get rid of you,"

"Get rid of me? The only thing you can do is try to suppress me, but you know that I will break free again,"

"Not if I have anything to say about it,"

The argument was over but now the battle for control was resuming. Tea's good side and her evil side were in a dire battle for control of the vessel and ultimately, their existence. She began to rise into the air. Her screaming returned intermittently. Tea was now half a mile into the Shadow Realm's night sky. She unleashed a final, deathly scream and with it an explosion of energy in all directions. Yugi and the others braced themselves as the final incredible burst of energy swept the area with violent force. Tea's eyes fell shut. Her body slowly descended from the sky. Below her grew a bright yellow ball, like a sun fallen to the ground. Rays of light shot from the golden sphere. The light was blinding; the Rosencraft had to shield their eyes from it. From within the ball of light came a powerful roar.

When the light faded, Tea rested on the head of a Saint Beast of the Sun, Winged Dragon of Ra. The golden dragon lowered its bottom jaw to relieve a smaller, gentler roar. It lowered its head to the ground and turned its head as though calling the others over. They swiftly hurried over to Tea.

Yugi reached her first. She was breathing shallowly. Sisi advised they get her to the castle and so they did. Yugi remained with Tea as Ra took to the sky. The others followed on Slifer and Suzami.

They placed Tea in her room. It was decided that she might only need rest to recover from her tribulation. The Winged Dragon of Ra that appeared rested itself on the front lawn like a sentry. It raised its head every now and then towards Tea's window. Although offered food, it refused to eat.

Yugi and May checked on Tea every half hour. The day seemed to be passing with terrible slowness. Although night had come to Earth hours ago now, it was day in the Shadow Realm. Distant clouds crept closer with idle interest. It gave promise that tomorrow would be a beautifully cloudy day. There might even be some rain by the afternoon.

Daylight finally tiptoed away letting in the night as Tea still slept. A glass of water and a saucer with a slice of cake rested on the side table next to her bed. The check-ins had dropped off to every two hours as Yugi chose to stay with her and sleep in a chair by her bed.

In the morning Yugi arose with concern. Tea was not in her bed. The snack beside her bed was also gone. He went to the window and was relieved at the sight. It must have been around six o'clock in the morning. There was a very low but thick fog, what you would see at a graveyard in a horror movie. But this scene was tranquil. Tea was rubbing the beaked mouth of the Winged Dragon of Ra. The ferocity it showed the day before was gone, or hidden. Tea seemed to be well. She was laughing softly as the dragon rubbed its head against her.

Yugi crept down stairs, what he thought must have been the same strategy Tea used to make it outside unnoticed. The air was warm. The scent of coming rain rode the breeze. Clouds were cast across the sky making it difficult to tell exactly where the sun was in rising. The early morning fog was already disappearing. The Winged Dragon of Ra turned a curious glance to Yugi and roared quietly to acknowledge his presence. Tea turned to see what disturbed her pet, showing a pleasant smile.

"Yugi! I am so happy to see you! It… it's…" Tea began to sob.

"It's alright Tea, it's alright now. You're back with us," Yugi held her as she wept into his shoulder.

"But Yugi, I did so many horrible things. So many people… I killed so many. One after another, I kept killing. Worst of all, I can't even remember who they were,"

"It wasn't your fault Tea. You wouldn't have done those things if you could choose not to. The evil that took over your body is what made you do those things. But that's all over now. You defeated it. This dragon here is good proof of that, in my opinion," The Winged Dragon nudged Yugi in admiration.

"Yugi…" Tea sniffled.

"We can talk about this all later, I think it's hungry. What's its name?"

"Its name is Rekkuzza," Her tears were stopping and the smile was returning. Rekkuzza stood up and stretched its wings as though reading Yugi's next thought.

"Rekkuzza. That's a nice name. Would you like to go to the Dragon's Lair? Rekkuzza can enjoy a meal better there,"

"Sure, Yugi. I would like that a lot. I've missed Selenity and Slifer and Suzami,"

"Yeah! And you will get to meet Osiris and Ra,"

Rekkuzza lowered its head again. Yugi and Tea rested themselves on it and were off. It was only an hour or two before the others found them. It was a mildly warm day now. There was a steady, gentle breeze.

"Good morning Tea. We are very relieved to see that you are back to your old self again,"

"Thank you, Sisi. I really did miss all of you too. I know you're worried about me, but I think that I'm fine now, and I would really like to know what's happened,"

"If that is your wish, Tea," Yami began. "I suppose it is to be expected that you would like the gaps in your memory filled, but I warn that you may not like what you hear,"

"Yami, I understand, but I must know. I have to,"

"Then I will tell you. It has been just over a month since the incident. The one who was responsible was Genosa Maxamillian DeVice III. He is, or I should say was, the grandson of the original Lucifer Hawk who ordered Hiei and Kiram to perpetrate their acts. He also somehow gained the power of immortality.

"When he used that spell to paralyze your mind to kidnap you, it awoke an evil power in your mind. It surfaced and did so viciously. You disappeared and so did your energy signal. We couldn't find you.

"For the past month we have kept our public presence to a minimum so as not to be discovered by the Earth's populous. They are accusing us of being hostile aliens trying to infiltrate society and destroy the planet from the inside out. Meanwhile, people began to disappear as well as entire cities. At first it was only a single mysterious death. Then, as of two days ago, it was over a hundred in just one night. For the month it is around one thousand. There is no need to get upset Tea, we cannot be sure it was you who did any of it. Your evil side may not have even been able to do such things,"

"But how can you say that!" Tea cried, "All I can do is be thankful I wasn't responsible for any more deaths!"

"Please Tea, understand that other things occurred as well," Kenshin injected to quell Tea's anger with herself. "Part of a natural defense, your subconscious mind created duplicates of itself. We met several who were later captured by Genosa's sister, Lynette. She combined them to create a truly evil being. It has no regret or moral pain for the acts it perpetrates. It was powerful enough to kill Genosa with ease. Even worse, it looks almost identical to you."

"Identical… to me?"

"Yes. Initially we believed it to be you. It even has your voice. Lynette controls your evil double. By choice Lynette has said she will not bother us. All she wants, in her words, is to do as she pleases with Earth, and she needs you to do it,"

"What does she want to do?"

"We're not sure. We think it has something to do with trying to transform the humans into part Lucifer Hawk,"

"Nevertheless, I know that I killed people. I don't know who, I don't know how and I don't know when, but I know I did. I saw parts of the murders. I saw human bodies with twisted, horrid, faces, large eyes like marbles, pale as a white washed fence. I killed people, destroyed their souls. That is not something that can be changed, it is a fact," Tea's voice was solemn and melancholic. Her words did not hang in the air but dropped like thousand pound lead weights.

"Yes Tea," Yugi said after a moment of silence. "We can't bring back those we've lost; Joey, grandpa, your parents, all those who have died for no acceptable reason, what a great thing it would be to bring those people back. But we can't bring them back. All we can do is keep them in our memories, and stop anymore innocent people from dying an unfair death. We have to stop Lynette. She is by far the most wicked, dangerous being we have ever seen. Her powers are unknown to us, so we don't know what to expect from her,"

"Then what do we do? I don't want to be responsible for any more people dying. I couldn't stand myself if I killed any more people," Tea's voice was hoarse and strained trying to hold back tears.

"Anastasia would probably be able to understand better than us," Anzu commented, her somber tone matching Tea's. "Her and Vash have experienced what you are dealing with. To kill a demon, a creature that has lost its soul long ago, is one thing. But when there may be a soul left in that vessel, the decision is made that much harder. I know the guilt you feel because it is a guilt Anastasia felt. It was a matter in which you had no control but you are compelled to believe that there must have been another way things could change and turns out better. You're probably cursing your own birth now believing things would have been better had you not existed. This world would not be the same had you not come to it. What happened was not your fault. We can still make things better this time. The past is forever as it is, but the future is yet to be written in stone,"

"Wow. What a touching story,"

"Lynette!" Noa yelled.

"Although I would love to torture you all further, I must say I agree with Anzu. It is not your fault that you committed the acts you did. That honor goes to me. It was my magnificent spell that took you from that place where you dealt with my brother Genosa and unlocked the evil in your little mind. I knew that your evil side would have an unimaginable hunger for blood and destruction. I knew where you were for little while, but your signal vanished suddenly one day. You can be a very difficult person to find when you want to be. You can also be a highly dangerous and violent person when you want; I admire that in you," Lynette began to laugh her wicked, cold laugh.

"Stop it!" Tea screamed. "There's no humor in the evil you've caused! There is nothing that can excuse what you did, what you made me do! You are nothing but a cold, heartless, demon!"

"No. I am like you. I have chosen the logical path, however. The humans of Earth destroyed the planet and the Empire, which I would have been enjoying as queen! The Lucifer Hawk population was cut down because of that cruel, evil attack on my home planet. The Black Plague that swept Europe and Asia and the stupid wars that humans waged against each other were nothing compared to the holocaust on Nemesis. For an entire day, they dropped their nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons across the planet like it was a big testing ground. My grandfather died shortly afterwards. I did enjoy seeing him rampage your planet. But now I am going to build my own kingdom. Tea's role in my plans ended earlier than I wanted but that's all right. The hold your evil side held on those people, Tea, fell upon me,"

"I'm not in the mood for any riddles," Tea reacted bitterly. She was ready to explode with rage.

"I think I will delight in torturing you a little bit longer. Besides, I'm sure you must be dying to know the rest of the story,"

"That's quite enough Lynette,"

"Ah, the prince speaks. Do you defend her, Yugi, because you believe me wrong, or because you are friends? Or are you two more than friends?"

"Lynette, I have had my fill of you. If Tea doesn't kill you, I will," Lafiel was beaming with anger.

"That's rather hilarious. I see you're not interested so I will go. My only reason for coming to this place is to inform you that by week's end, I should have completely taken the Earth. Just thought I should let you know. There is only one way to stop it and that is by killing the ones Tea thought she killed. Their numbers will continue to grow and doing so as we speak. I guess if you really wanted them to stop you could kill them all. But that would be like killing innocent people wouldn't it? Too bad for all of you. My empire will rise to ultimate greatness, just as it was over thirteen thousand years ago. I hope you all will learn to enjoy it," Her young, high pitch cackle echoed across the Lake of Dragons. She vanished in a swirl of dark flames.

Terror was sweeping the Earth. The bodies of those that suffered unconventional and mysterious deaths had disappeared from the morgues and cemeteries in which they were placed. They were seen again by family and friends with great horror; their loved ones risen from the dead with twisted, deformed figures of malice. The same loved ones that would have once done all they could to help each other now bore fangs like a wolf in an unyielding thirst for blood. Lynette was correct. Her new empire was already reaching mammoth proportions. By definition, they were now class S Hawks in strength, but they were mindless weaklings no stronger than a class C.

Tea stood by the lake frustrated and upset and most of all, worried.

"We don't have much time to make a decision," Tea stated scornfully.

"The only way to stop the conquest on Earth…" Kenshin began, "…is to stop Lynette. Since she is controlling those people, without her commands they will likely stop,"

"We can't guarantee that," May said. "They now have a thirst for blood. They might just continue because they're hungry,"

"We have to get the spirit sword," Rini stated flatly. "Lynette can wait. She isn't going anywhere we shouldn't be heading ourselves,"

"But what about the Earth? We cannot leave it to go on a search for a sword that has been lost since before we were born," Kenshin pointed out.

"We must," Yami returned. "Whatever control Lynette has must not be permanent. It is a diversion; keep us preoccupied while she looks for the spirit swords,"

"If it's not too much trouble, can someone please explain what the heck you people are talking about?" Lafiel snapped.

"Right, sorry," Noa stammered a little, shocked at Lafiel's level of anger. "There are two swords which are unmatched in power; the ultimate weapon aside from that which is forbidden and sealed in the temple. They are known as the spirit swords; the Animus Blade of Paradise and the Animus Blade of Abyss,"

"The Animus Blade of Abyss," Rini continued enthusiastically, "Is a cursed sword. An evil sword by creation, it is the one Lynette is likely after. So dangerous those swords are that they were locked away and hidden long before even Yamiyugi was born. Rumors always placed them as secretly hidden in the galaxy, guarded by the greatest of warriors from every world in the universe.

"The Animus Blade of Paradise and Blade of Abyss are supposed to have been forged from the fangs of a dragon with the feather of a phoenix imbedded in the center, as well as several other highly potent magical items. I would do almost anything to just touch either sword~"

"And that's why they were hidden," Anzu teased lightly. "Rini may not be serious but Lynette likely isn't kidding around,"

"Thankfully, now that I understand the nature of the spell being used by our dear Lynette, we have all the time in the world," Yami commented.

"And why is that?" Yugi asked puzzled.

"Lynette is using a combination of two complex spells. The first spell allows her to temporarily reanimate dead bodies. The second spell gave the animated corpses the power to infect humans with the energy of Lucifer Hawks to induce the transformations. This spell would have required the sacrifice of enough Lucifer Hawk energy for each of the animated corpses. She tricked us! She knew that if she just went ahead and sacrificed a thousand Hawks, we would have known something was up, that something wasn't right. So she had us destroy all of those Hawks for her!"

"Sorry, but I don't see where this makes anything better," antagonized Lafiel.

"The spells are temporary spells; they will expire in a matter of time," May continued. "Even if she succeeded in transforming the Earth, once the spell expired the people would all turn back to normal; very confused, but normal,"

"So the whole point of the spell was to get us to kill all of those people while she went looking for that stupid sword?" Tea asked very upset. Her anger was growing dangerously high.

"Unfortunately, yes. She expected us to needlessly rush down to Earth and start to hunt any and all of those who were infected. She has probably already left in search of the Animus Blade. She no longer has any concern for what we do because if she finds that sword she will have all the power she needs to make the spell permanent," Sisi concluded.

"Do we know where to start?"

"My best guess, Noa, would be the planet Salaita," Lafiel suggested a bit more patiently. "I heard when I was little that it was a beautiful planet. The inhabitants are said to be relatively peaceful race very intelligent. They could probably help us,"

"Okay," Tea interjected in the calmest tone she had since the mess began. She was almost back to her old self, but you could still hear a little anger and frustration in her voice. "I don't think we would be able to teleport ourselves through the galaxy without wearing ourselves out. So how are we going to navigate the universe?"

"Luckily," Noa exasperated as his eyes brightened, "I have prepared for just a situation,"

"You prepared for the chance that a crazed psychopathic woman bent on world domination, who created a clone type being that like certain others here, I won't say names, wish to kidnap Yugi and make him its groom, thus requiring us to journey through the entire galaxy on the off chance that the sword we are seeking exists?"

"In a word May, sort of,"


	11. Chapter 24 - Sailing To The Stars

**CHAPTER 24: Sailing to the Stars, A New Journey Begins**

"That's two words,"

"Fine, Ms. Smarty-pants. The point is I have a ship. A wonderful piece of work which I created long ago but never had a chance to test,"

"Why couldn't you test it? Why did you build it in the first place?"

"You see, Lafiel, I was a delegate for foreign planets in matters concerning Earth. It was a highly secretive operation in order to prevent conflicts. As it was always a foreign world that desired contact, we had no need for a ship to go out of the range of the nearby planets. After a while, it became apparent that it would be vital in the future for us to be able to visit them ourselves; diplomatic reasons mainly,"

"Fantastic, let's go see it!"

"There's no need to rush Runa,"

"I know Kenshin, but you know I love to travel, so I would like us to begin our journey as soon as possible,"

"I agree with Runa. Let's start right away,"

"The only reason that you're so anxious, sister, is because you want the sword,"

"Not true, Anzu. If you don't believe me then Yugi and I can stay here until you all return,"

"Not on your life, Rini!" Runa demanded.

"Come on already. Let's go see Noa's ship,"

"Alright May. We have to go to the desert badlands,"

"There's nothing out there but sand. Why there?"

"Because Sisi, that's where I hid it. It's very far south. There are no towns anywhere nearby so there are no visitors to the area. We could teleport there except there is a spell that would throw us to another part of the Shadow Realm. I can only dispel it if I'm there,"

"Highly convenient and inconvenient at the same time, I must say,"

"Yes. I do agree Sisi,"

South they went past the Aurora Mountains. South was the Shifting Sands Valley, the deserted wasteland of the Kingdom of the Shadow Realm. In the northwestern part of the desert was the Dark Spire, the holding cell for those lucky enough in the past to escape death for demonic crimes; though any who remain in the prison would agree that death would be a much more humane and greatly welcomed event.

Like a purgatory, neither a stairway to heaven nor a gate to hell, the midnight-purple obelisk stands tall and lonely sealing in those it was seen necessary to be served a life sentence. This pillar once held Kiram and Hiei, the only two to ever escape its inner sanctum. It now stood empty. Had he been captured instead of killed by his sister, Genosa III would have found the comfort of a home there; or the dread of pure silence. Soon, it was hoped, Lynette would call this place home, her and her abomination Evil Tea.

But the tower was only but a mark in the distance. They were much further east. They neared the limits of the kingdom center of the Shadow Realm that bore the same name. Miles further was the next city of the Shadow Realm overseen by the High Noble of the Aegis Skies; the title given to the magistrate in control of this area.

As they continued south the Aurora Mountains rose majestically to their left. It was a small mountain range but a very treacherous one, frequented only by the dragons and protecting a place that has so much importance and secrecy that the Rosencraft would not know about it for a long time.

They arrived at the edge of the desert, the Dark Abyss. There was the soft beat of feathered wings above their heads. They turned their heads to the sky to see a bird, a snow owl, banking down to them in a spiral. Its body lit up in white flames. A long tail flowed out from behind it as its image changed from that of an owl to that of a bird similar to an eagle.

"Phawkes! I'm so glad to see you! Come here precious," Tea exuberantly called to the bird. She outstretched her arm so that the bird could flap its way to a perch. Although covered in what looked like wispy flames, it showed no discomfort and gave off no heat. It opened its beak to offer a soft shrill cry.

"Guys," Tea exclaimed, "This is a dear pet of mine. I named her Phawkes,"

"A guardian!" Sisi squeezed out a voice through a deep gasp. "I… I can't believe you have another guardian!"

"Who, Phawkes? He came to me maybe three weeks ago. If it wasn't for Phawkes then the damage I did would've been worse. When he was around, I could control my body for short periods of time. It was Phawkes that led me to you guys,"

"It's so precious and cute! What an amazing pet," Runa and Lafiel remarked in sync with each other. They stopped to giggle with each other.

"I hope he can stay – I mean, no one minds if Phawkes comes with us while it wants to?"

"There's no problem with that Tea. I'm sure no one here minds if Phawkes joins our trip," Anzu assured. "Speaking of which, how far are we from your place Noa?"

"Actually, it's right beyond that dune,"

Phawkes fluttered a short distance above its owner's head. It followed Tea closely never venturing any significant distance away from her.

They crossed over to the far side of the dune. Noa waved his hand and the sand cleared revealing a relatively short path downwards to a rather large iron door. A sea of white mist rushed from the opening of the door as air touched the inner sanctum of this place for the first time in many hundreds of years. The doors whined at their being disturbed after so long, moving slowly like time had done for it.

Upon entering the darkness there was a sense of great expectation. Nothing could be seen – underground windows would have been pointless – no light made it far past the entrance. Noa took himself into the dark room. After a moment's hesitation he echoed back to the gang.

"Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to introduce to you the greatest ship in the galaxy! A masterpiece that took some seventeen years to complete, I introduce to you the Nirvana Phoenix!"

The lights came to life in the hanger allowing all to plainly see the massive ship. A black like the starless sky at night, the ship was sleek and imposing though plain of excessive and unnecessary designs. It had a classical swept-wing design like modern delta-wing fighter jets. Yet it was plainly unlike any conventional airplane, the wings set relatively far back in relation to the very long mid-section and nose. It looked every bit like a spaceship

"Amazing! It's a beautiful spacecraft,"

"You bet it is Lafiel. The Nirvana Phoenix Ascendant has a triple hyperionic megathrust engine, super output space-time warp generators, two Algernon Night Raven charged particle cannons and a Geno Maxis energy shield. This Aegis class transport ship has enough firepower and speed to be classified as a battlecruiser. Though strictly for defensive and emergency purposes, the shields and cannons are the most powerful since the Tarilians' warship, Andromeda Neus.

"The Nirvana Phoenix Ascendant boasts enough speed to make it to the other end of the solar system in under twenty hours, less than ten if it uses the space-time warp generators. The Gundanium alloy body adds to the supreme defense and comfort. There is complete climate control throughout the ship.

"The control room is located on the third level. Highly spacious, the center area of the control room holds a conference table that can be lowered into the actual floor. For communication purposes, there is a view screen recessed in the ceiling. It can be lowered at any time and can double as a course map and systems check screen. The computer system is very intricate yet very simple to operate. It also has an automatic systems check program that monitors all the ship's systems constantly and will report any problems immediately. A minimum of two people is required to operate the ship.

"The bedroom set ups are identical to those inside the castle although, Yugi, Lafiel, and Tea, you will have to update your rooms to your liking,"

"You know no one can hear you. They all went to the ship, care to join us?" Sisi pointed out as Noa looked to see almost everyone already peering around the ship and looking for a door.

"Sure Sisi, why not? It's only my greatest creation!" Sisi giggled lightly. Yami placed a hand on Noa's shoulder.

"So captain, when can we depart?"

"I'll have to do a complete systems check as well as make sure the maintenance is completely up to date. We should be able to depart in just two days,"

"Outstanding. In that time you can also give us a little run of how this thing operates,"

The time dilation effect between Earth and the Shadow Realm was a strong one. One could gain a lot of time staying in the Shadow Realm as opposed to Earth. The timeline offered by Noa was based on time in the Shadow Realm. Two days in the Shadow Realm, given the existing time fluctuations, equaled about an hour, possibly two, on Earth.

Everyone spent this time getting set to head off to space. It was a new experience for all of them really. It was more obviously the case for Tea and Yugi, but even for Noa, for whom the subject was almost like innate knowledge, he'd never gone farther than Earth's moon. As such, each had some mental preparation to do before this all began.

Runa's preparations had a lot to do with managing her situation back on Earth. For the past month she'd tried fielding the issue with her company from the shadows. After Tea's initial disappearance and they all started to live their little life on the run, Runa enacted one of the several preplanned scenarios she had prepared years ago. Knowing her own legacy and anticipating Yami's return, Runa had a number of plans concerning how to handle certain inevitabilities, mainly with her having to take periods of absence.

For the month Runa alleged she was injured in the incident during the finals. That wasn't liable to hold up much longer. These two days she spent with staff at the palace in the Shadow Realm planning out and preparing a number of announcements and the like to tide things over until they hopefully concluded things in space.

Yami's thoughts were a little different at the moment. He was in a reflective state of mind. There were some things about what was going on, things about Genosa, Lynette, and the history of the Rosencraft which he knew, and knew the others didn't know. Some of it he would tell them, he thought, before they started their chase of Lynette in earnest. Other, however, he didn't even know how to begin addressing, so he thought he would keep them to himself.

Yami knew of Lynette's parents. He'd met Lynette's mother once, when he was very young, though he hardly remembered her anymore. Hers was among the portraits in his room, Nemesis' last great ruler.

Lady Jasmine, the mother of Lynette, former queen of the esteemed Nemesis Empire. If anything, anyone who knew her and her daughter would find Jasmine's beauty, intelligence and natural royal presence as an inheritance in the young Lynette.

Only through understanding the past can one ever as much as hope that they will control the future.

She was born in the midst of a brewing power struggle. Her name was given in the hopes that her time of rule would be less turbulent and a return to the past joy of the kingdom. The Princess Jasmine was a carefree child, carefree but smart.

Jasmine R. Alexandria Liquer was deemed a highly intelligent child from a very young age. Her ability to grasp and hold information was uncanny. She was able to understand and accept things as they were but burned with desire to change the things that she didn't like. This did not please her parents. They – like any other parent, Lucifer Hawk or Human – tried their utmost to shelter her from the cruelties of her Lucifer Hawk heritage. They wanted to protect her from the civil war brewing under them just beyond the walls of their castle in Varsyth. As in any war between families, as in any war period, tragedy strikes close to home; too close.

When she was seven, Jasmine lost her father. Reports said that it was an unfortunate but natural death, but Jasmine knew better. For a long time after her father died, she was quiet and distant. Her reasons were just. She saw her father's murder and his murderer. Her own mother was the one to perpetrate the act.

Jasmine knew better than to jump the gun and out her mother out as the treasonous murderer of the head of the Liquer family. She also knew it wasn't her mother's fault. It was an act of a mind disillusioned, controlled by a dream and a blade cold as the blood of the murder, dreaded in the mind of the one who possesses it, and, like a dream, disappears when the possessor awakes. In this case, like with most dreams, it vanished in a haze, like a haze, under the morning sun.

Jasmine saw the entire act from beginning to end. A figure covered in a cloak dark as night followed the queen as she walked through the halls towards the throne room.

The king spent many an hour here. His visits were usually for a quiet place to ponder many a subject. This night his thoughts were rested upon the proposition of cooperative leadership of the largest empire in the galaxy. The task would not be easy but there was a need for peace; the Lucifer Hawks had put up with a divided nation too long. This family feud threatened to cost the empire control over its colonies. He was not going to let his daughter suffer the burden of growing up with a situation like that.

What he did not know was that he would never get the chance to make his landmark proposal, a proposal to reunite the Rosencraft family. He would not live long enough to see his daughter grow up or his world and empire recover from the great depression it was in.

Jasmine knew the inside of her home better than any cloaked intruder could. There was only one place they could be going and that was the throne room. Jasmine took a shortcut to her secret hiding place. It was a small area that held an entrance and a single opening, which looked down upon the expanse of the royal throne room. Jasmine had learned from past investigation that her secret window was concealed very well appearing to anyone in the great room as a design on one of the stone figures lining the walls just below the ceiling.

The King was pacing across the room. He was in thought seemingly unaware that anyone had entered his throne room.

Under the cloaked man's control, the Queen stepped quietly across the room, the long dark dagger still in hand. The hand that held the dagger slipped behind her back, out of the King's sight.

Jasmine had a bird's eye view of all of this. She saw the cloaked man slip into a shadow as her mom continued making her way across the room. Her father had now noticed his wife and was making his way towards her.

Her position did not allow good sound so Jasmine could only see her mother say something and watch her father freeze where he was. Thankfully she could not hear much. What she saw was horrible enough. Her mother lunged at her father with her arm fully extended. He was able to side step the first attack. She proceeded with a horizontal slash that barely grazed her husband's side. He jumped to the air for a temporary safety so as to examine the extent of his wound.

It was a short relieve. Though the cut brought hardly any blood, it was causing a mysteriously great deal of pain. It was a deep pain, nearly paralyzing him. He was unable to evade his wife any longer. With great speed and merciless viciousness, she played the dagger into her husband's heart.

Jasmine wanted to scream; really, really scream her lungs out. But fear gripped her, held her tight, and choked off her would-be shout. Her hands clasped her mouth allowing not a peep to pass her lips. Tears rolled like rivers over swelling their banks by the rains of sorrow.

Her mother rose from the corpse still firmly holding the cursed dagger. The cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows to meet the Queen. He took the dagger from her. Her body went limp and she dropped unconsciously to the floor with a sickeningly visible thud. Jasmine cringed as she saw her mother strike the floor. The cloaked one turned and walked away from his work, his head cocked backwards in laughter. In seconds his body vanished.

It would be at least a half hour before Jasmine would steal back to her room in tears. The bodies of her parents would not be found until morning. Her father was dead but her mother was fine. Her memory served only that she went to her chamber to await her husband before drifting off to sleep. Upon examining the King's body, it was discovered that there was no sign of a wound of any sort. His heart, however, left signs of a tear straight through. The cause of death was listed as a rare and violent rupture of blood vessels in the heart; a natural death caused by high levels of stress, not murder.

Jasmine wanted desperately to tell what she saw. The secret tore at her with a vindictive cruelty. She kept her silence. Whoever was in the cloak, Jasmine thought, could be someone still in the castle. In addition, her mother would likely be seen as the assassin of the King rather than what she was; a victim of some unknown, uncontrolled force. Jasmine did not want to lose her mother as well. So she tried to live her life as normally as one could after a parent dies. It was difficult but Jasmine had always triumphed in the face of adversity.

But Jasmine's mother was not as resilient as her daughter. She died relatively soon after the King. It was yet another harsh tug on her emotions. The deep wounds were not given a chance at healing themselves. The Liquer family was officially in a panic. The ones in the king and queen's court now were at the brink of armed conflict for control of the family throne. They would not recognize Jasmine as the new queen; mostly of her age, they did not accept her authority.

It was something they would regret. She was forced to transform her entire personality to fit her new upcoming role. She first dropped her first name. She chose to only be referred to by her second name, Relyna. She then took her palace. To appease what they thought was the tantrum of a small child – yet another bad decision on their part – Relyna was given her parents' castle. She reclaimed her home and the nobles moved their capital on the border of the DeVice family territory. It also just happened that a peace treaty was signed shortly after the queen's death. It was a conspiracy and Relyna knew it. It was a deeply entrenched plot likely running through every level. Every noble was probably in on the conspiracy. Their plan was a behind the scenes takeover; lowly class A Hawks that dared to believe they could take the throne away from the royal family.

Relyna had greater powers than anyone could imagine. Her parents likely did not realize how deep the well of her power really was. Her power, though unheard of in the current time, pales in comparison to that of the likes of Lynette and the Rosencraft at the same age. But it was much further ahead than her predecessors.

Her mind reading abilities developed rapidly. All she needed was to think of a person and she could hear each and every one of their thoughts; similar to the degree demonstrated by Anzu and Rini when they first took the Sancrien throne. She had mastered the image manipulation and parallel mind switch techniques and used them frequently to keep out of sight. She wasn't a martial artist but it would be a safe bet that Relyna's love of swords was comparable to Rini's. All of this at the age of nine! She was only nine but as intelligent and determined as any Hawk would ever know. She had seen enough of the violence thrown into the once peaceful Liquer family. Relyna wanted her life back and that included her throne.

It was a cool, pleasant afternoon on Nemesis. A full moon was rising in the west, a bright and beautiful moon. Relyna, the small child that was rightfully the queen of the Liquer family and heir to the Nemesis Empire, entered the room of the new capital palace known later as Blood Hall. She intruded on the supposed to be secret meeting between the nobles of both families. She walked straight through the center aisle of the congregation with slow, precise, and calculated steps. She did not pay any attention to the uproar to her incursion. She was on a straight path to the throne at the front of the room where the head of the Crawford family was presiding over this meeting.

"Well, well everyone. Look alive; we have the last child of the Liquer family. Jasmine is it? What brings you here my dear?" She ignored him and proceeded forward.

"What's wrong my dear, a loss for words?" He laughed lightly joined by the others. By this time Relyna had made it to the throne. The laughter died down as he began to speak again.

"You must understand that we are very busy here, so if you have anything to say Jasmine I suggest you do so now, otherwise you should return to the nice home we allowed you to have," Relyna smiled brightly at him, eyes large and royal purple.

"I only answer to Relyna, Lord Crawford,"

"How cute, a name change for the little girl," The congregation broke out in laughter. Relyna's smile remained. "Forgive my guests, but your little announcement seems a bit out of place in the discussion we were having before you entered,"

"My announcement does fit properly into your discussion. I am here because I want my throne,"

"I'm afraid you have me at a loss, Jasmine. I don't know what you are talking about,"

"There is no use playing your games. I know everything. I know about the cursed sword you used to manipulate my mother, making her kill my father. I know you poisoned my mother and had it played as dying from a broken heart. I know that you did all this so you could rule not just the Abh family and the Arenzai family that you conquered and your own Crawford family, but destroy my family and eventually the DeVice family and all the Hawks who belong to neither family that might one day challenge you. You have killed many Hawks in your pursuit of power and dominion over everything. You made a mistake however. You left me alone. I was the only one who witnessed your acts. I wonder if you had even realized anyone might have seen you. I wanted more than anything to kill you, to make you feel the pain I felt at witnessing my own parent's death, the pain of seeing and knowing there was nothing I could do to save them! But that was then. I am still unable to bring either of them back, but I will do my best to make their dreams of peace a reality. To do that, Lord Crawford, you must step down and out of the way. I have seen how you treat Hawks. Even the ones you call family have suffered under your greed. The planets allotted to the Crawford family, after the split of the Rosencraft family, have fallen to little more than a land of pestilence, crime and hunger. As the supreme ruler of this territory, the Queen of the Liquer family, the leader of the family under which the terrestrial kingdom of Nemesis is given dominion, I order you to step down from my throne, remove yourself from my land and await your trial on charges of murder, high treason and unreasonable endangerment of the civilian population on the seven planets under the Crawford jurisdiction. Until the investigation and trial are complete, all of the Crawford family holdings, excluding those of terrestrial Nemesis, will be under direct supervision of myself and the Liquer family,"

A plethora of emotions were running through the Lord Crawford of which anger and hatred were of no short supply. He stood from his seat glaring furiously at Relyna. Her pleasant demeanor was unnerving. Lord Crawford's energy was rising with his temper.

"Do you realize who you are talking to little girl? I am Walter Mathias Rosencraft Crawford, lord and master of the Crawford family! How dare you speak to me in such a manner you insolent little whelp! If not for your age, I would have you taken away and executed!"

"I think that it is you who has to realize who you are talking to. My parents were the King and Queen of the royal Liquer family. Upon your murdering them, all their power and holdings reverted to the eldest child, which would be me. I am Queen in name and in right and I proclaim it to you and all those gathered here. This palace, the land it rests on and all the land of the Liquer family belongs to me. I would prefer you dead but I will settle for your leaving my sight,"

"Unfortunately you're outnumbered here. You couldn't even hope of defeating me much less all of my associates here. You may be right, maybe not killing you was a mistake, but I can easily rectify that oversight. Any last words?"

"I warned you," Relyna answered back.

Walter opened a clenched fist. He held out a purple orb of energy. In a swift wave of his hand, the orb rushed to Relyna. It was stopped inches from her unflinching face. As it hit an unseen shield it dispersed in unpredictable angles throughout the room annihilating some Hawks at the same time. She proceeded forward slowly, like a jungle cat stalking its prey. Walter fired blast after blast each being deflected wildly. He soon found he had no room left to retreat. Relyna reached him and placed her right palm against his chest. Effortlessly a wave of energy left Relyna's hand disintegrating every piece of Walter and everything behind him for ten meters.

She turned to face the panicked, fleeing nobles. She waved her hand to slam the doors shut, catching one and snapping him in half. They were all locked inside now.

"Silence!" she beckoned to the hall. "Take your seats and give me the courtesy that you have denied me for the past years!" They sat quietly, fearful of what Queen Relyna would see as a fit punishment for insubordination.

"Y…Y…Your majesty," One frightened noble spoke up. "What is it … I mean ... that is to say, how can we serve you, your highness?"

"Your only task will be to follow my commands or otherwise do nothing. The center of this government will be my castle. I anticipate we will have no trouble getting along. Now, are there any questions? I hope you all understand why I had to destroy him. If not, that's fine; what is done is done. You can't change the past. If there are no questions then this clone will be destroyed. As I said already, the real Relyna can be found at her castle,"

She waited for a moment to await any questions, but they seemed to have gotten the idea. The masterfully rendered duplicate exploded into blue flames. The real Relyna sat neatly in her throne in her castle. A Hawk entered the hall silently carrying a silver tray.

"Hello my Queen. I have your beverage for you Ms. Relyna. I trust your meeting went well,"

"Thank you very much Norman, and yes, yes the meeting went fine. Walter is dead and the council has chosen to accept my terms. Hopefully I can now bring peace to our world,"

"Very well Ms. Relyna, I shall go then and prepare for your address as you planned,"

"Norman, before you go,"

"Yes my Queen,"

"I was wondering something. Why is it you have stood by my side for all this time where as all the others abandoned my family once my father died?"

"Well, Ms. Relyna, I have served this family for quite some time. I know it very well. When I served your grandfather, Alexander, I foresaw his having three children and the civil war that would result. While I served your father Roland I saw his death and your rise to power. I do know much, if you are interested to hear it,"

"Indeed I am. Please share,"

"Your cousins share in your lust for knowledge. You three are much alike,"

"My cousins? I never knew of any cousins! Where are they? Can I meet them?"

"If only you could. Alas, Ms. Relyna, they have long since vanished. As they were growing up under your uncle Walter, they fled. They were as powerful as you are; a different breed you three are. Your powers as Hawks are remarkably strong. They destroyed two full powered retrieval teams, out ran a third and outsmarted a fourth. They then made a dimensional tear through which they made their final escape,"

"What were their names?"

"Their names? Oh, of course. Yamiyugi and Jun. Do not worry about them. You will likely meet them eventually. I think that they will not be able to resist a visit back to this planet. They and their descendants will do great things, very great things. Your name will live on for a long time. Unfortunately I see this peace not lasting as long as you would hope. I apologize Ms. Relyna, I do not mean to waste your time with my foolishness,"

"No, no Norman. I have had similar feelings myself. I do not believe destiny can be changed, but the future is not set either. I can only do what I think is right. The rest will fall into place on itself,"

So was what happened. For decades on Nemesis there was peaceful coexistence. Relyna no longer had to worry about, much less deal with war. For the first couple of years there were rebellious extremists engaged in violent acts, but that is to be expected.

Eventually, Relyna got married, to a man named Genosa M. DeVice II. It was the beginning of the future Norman had foreseen. Unfortunately he was now dead. Several years after their talk, Norman fell terribly ill. It was unlike any illness they had seen before. Eventually Norman died. His passing was peaceful but very sad.

What Relyna did not know about Genosa was his lust for power. It was for his eventual rule that Relyna's parents were murdered. Murder is an interesting word. It does not exist in the Nemesis language, but I shall use it anyway. You see, murder is an evil crime of a worse kind than it is considered on Earth. For that reason, everyone was sure the death was not intentional. They didn't care to investigate murder in the death of a King so chances of any sort of investigation in a servant's death were minimal.

It was for his eventual rule that Norman was killed. Norman had too much knowledge for Genosa's liking. In truth, Norman was a really big threat. Relyna trusted Norman more than anyone else in her kingdom. He had helped her and guided her through very difficult times. His death was not the cause of the fall of Nemesis into chaos, nor was his living going to prevent that plummet. Relyna was a strong leader and Norman was a great teacher. By the time he died he had taught Relyna everything he knew and she had learned well. But sometimes you still need that person to remind you about those old lessons less you fail to remember them. Unfortunately there was no one like that remaining for her. Norman was like a father to her. In an attempt to hold on to those lessons, she found herself wanting help. By the time she realized she didn't need it, it was too late.

Genosa DeVice II had set all of this in motion so that he could get closer to domination and power. He knew well of how easily Walter was destroyed. A direct confrontation with her now that she had plenty of time to further develop her already fabulously great power, no, Genosa was greedy but he was not a complete fool. He wanted Relyna's hand in marriage not for love but for a better means of securing the goals he sought.

He was patient. It was near impossible to gain Relyna's trust much less her favor. One single slip would be very, very bad for him. He had to learn what he could about her so as to locate her weaknesses. He did not find a weakness, but he did find a distraction, Jun and Yamiyugi. She wanted very much to see them, talk to them, learn from them; at least know whether or not they were alive.

Several years after they were married, Genosa approached his wife. He told her he knew of a separate, alternate dimension where Yamiyugi and his sister Jun were living. She was anxious to go but didn't want a wild goose chase that would leave her people without their leader and her children without their mother, Genosa, of course, swore to defend and maintain the kingdom the same way she had. Of course, he was lying.

Genosa II really hadn't had the faintest idea as to where Jun and her brother were. As far as he was concerned, Jun and Yamiyugi were long dead. What he didn't know was that out of all the random places, he picked out the one where they went and lived their lives.


	12. Chapter 25 - A Link From The Past

**CHAPTER 25: A Link From the Past**

The two days came and went in the Shadow Realm. On Earth only a few hours had passed. By the hour which the Rosencraft boarded the ship, Lynette was well on her journey.

She sat upon the captain's chair of her own ship as though it were a throne; and it suited her well. It could not be denied that her appearance was nothing less than that of a great and powerful queen, the same as her mother.

Lynette knew the tale of her own mother as well, if no better than Yami could. Lynette's thoughts were on the past as well, now that the journey was set to begin. In particular she was thinking of Yami, Anzu, and Rini's parents.

Jun and Yamiyugi had only been on Earth for a couple months. With their skills, they found adapting very easy. They chose to live at the edge of a city, a city we would come to know as Sancrien. Being only children, they had no past to conceal but found it necessary to blind the inhabitants to the missing presence of their parents. It was a simple task to say the least. The creatures they found, though very similar in appearance, were far less aware of their own spiritual and magical powers. Very few of them knew how to use any of their latent energies. The few that did were less powerful than a newborn Hawk. Nevertheless they wanted to stay quiet and out of the spotlight. Though they still trained all the time, they were just another face in the crowd, just the way they wanted.

This day they were in a cave on their estate. They were training, practicing their control. Relyna was now arriving on Earth. She was roughly seven hundred miles from the two siblings, but knew exactly where they were the instant she arrived.

Unsure of the reaction the two would take, Relyna insisted on making the trip alone. She became enchanted by the tales of Jun and Yamiyugi she heard from Norman. The last thing she wanted to do was put up a poor first impression by arriving to see them with a whole team of Hawks in tow. The two had fled from Nemesis after all. She didn't want to scare them off, she thought.

She could tell they were strong from the energy levels they were putting out. Yet, if that was all of their power, she thought herself to be much more powerful. Nonetheless, it was still wise to keep a confrontation to a minimal as it was highly unlikely that anyone knew of such things on Earth.

Relyna considered zipping over to her destination but could not be certain she would not be seen on her arrival; many questions she would hate to bother with. She instead traveled by ordinary means. This would significantly delay her plans but she accepted it.

While traveling by hover train she saw much of the lands of the area. This world was very similar to Nemesis, yet there was a mystique about it that she loved. The creatures captivated her and she hoped that the decay that had begun on Nemesis because of civil wars would not befall the lovely planet her two cousins now called home.

The sun set at about eight o'clock by the local time. A bright moon, Relyna observed, was rising from the east, opposite its path on Nemesis. It was a fine night. She heard two humans in discussion say that it was spring. The sky was mostly clear, just a few, thin, straggly clouds.

Relyna had been monitoring the movements of Jun and Yamiyugi. Their training had ceased several hours ago but their power levels had only dropped marginally. The thought that they might be much more powerful excited her. They had since moved a very little distance from their estate. Relyna guessed that they were probably making the usual daily appearances; a quick show of face to keep away suspicions. They probably got some supplies while they were on their visit. The whole expedition, whatever its purpose, lasted for about an hour and a half, ending just before sundown.

Once this hover train stopped, Relyna planned on zipping over to them. Now that she could more fully recognize human energy patterns, she realized the full extent of the population of the planet.

There were about equal numbers of humans on Earth as were Hawks on Nemesis. Their strength as a mass was not very impressive but their technology was far beyond expectations. There was a lot to admire about this planet, but Relyna decided it best to allow more familiar residents to give her the escort. Quickly and silently she vanished, reappearing, not to Jun or Yamiyugi's surprise, in front of the two siblings who sat at a table, playing a game.

"Good evening," began Jun. "You have been on Earth for some hours now. You're a Hawk. You are here from Nemesis?"

"Yes, I am. And I hope you are who I believe you to be. You are Jun and Yamiyugi are you not?"

"Yes we are. May we ask who you are? I have already tried reading your mind but it is now obvious that you are not an average Lucifer Hawk,"

"I guess I'm not. My name is Jasmine Relyna Alexandria Rosencraft Liquer DeVice. Please, just call me Relyna. I am much honored to meet you both,"

"I hope I can say the same for you. We have been here for several of this planet's months to live our lives away from the wars and violence of Nemesis. My sister and I do not wish to return there. We do wish it the best of luck,"

"No worries, I am not here to take you both away from here; only to visit. If you are interested, I do have many stories to tell you. It may be only a few months by Earth's time but by Nemesis it has been many years,"

"Sure, we'll gladly listen, but please allow us to finish our duel,"

"A duel?"

"Yes, a game we play; very fun. We could teach you if you like. Let's go outside though, the moon of Earth is very lovely,"

"I think so too, Jun,"

The little duel they had lasted quite a while. You are familiar with the rules of a Shadow Duel game already so I won't bother in repeating them. It went back and forward, ultimately ending in a draw; a combination of a Summoned Archfiend of Lightning and a trap called Battle Scarred.

Serene and wonderful, that was all Relyna could think of as she told her story; this place and this night. Even with the peace on Nemesis, a night like this was extraordinary. She couldn't remember such a fantastic feeling in a very long time. Nonetheless, she told the story succinctly. Jun and Yamiyugi listened very intently, interrupting once or twice to clarify one aspect or another.

"So, now a hard fought peace is in control on Nemesis. How have you two made out?"

"Yamiyugi and I have just been fine. After we discovered father's plans, we did not want to be any part of it. When we refused, he locked us away in his dungeon vowing to change our minds. We decided to brake free and make a run for it. He sent the Royal Knights after us. We stole a space cruiser and used our powers to make a dimensional tear, landing us on this planet," Jun explained.

"Our ship was detected by an Earth defense force. We teleported ourselves to the ground but our ship was destroyed," Yamiyugi continued. "Earth's not bad at all. The Earthlings are civil for the most part. They are kind and inquisitive – just like Nemesis used to be. They have moderate space travel capabilities and only two other planets in this solar system show signs of inhabitation. Contact is kept at a minimum though. We could feasibly return to Nemesis, but we have grown to like it here,"

"My brother is right. None on Earth have the ability to sense energy levels so we don't have to worry about being discovered. Creating a past was simple and our privacy is respected. They know of magic, some of their leaders are mages and considered very powerful by the Earth's standards. In truth, they're not impressive at all. Either way it was their choice, and we have no intention on leading these people; just to live in peace,"

"I would love it if you two returned to Nemesis, but I would never dream of removing you from this place. You have seemed to adjust nicely. How long did you say you have been on Earth?"

"Somewhere in the vicinity of six months,"

"Six months! Are you sure?"

"Yes. The length of a day here is just as long as is on Nemesis. It has been six months and two weeks,"

"Impossible! I can't believe it!"

"What's the matter Relyna?"

"You see, Jun, for you two it has been just over six months, but on our home planet it has been thirty six years!"

"What? No! That would mean that a single hour is the same as three days there!"

"I have to go immediately. My people have been without a true ruler for two months! My husband and children…"

"I can't believe a reconnaissance team has not checked in for you,"

"I wouldn't expect it, recon teams have never been to this dimension,"

"Of course they have. Every couple days there were scouting ships passing through this region,"

"No. I was told that after you two made the pass through the dimensional rift, you were never followed and that no ship had ever before made it here,"

"Since our arrival, Jun and I have seen steady activity. We assumed they were search parties looking for us. Come to think of it, activity has increased lately with actual landings. For some strange reason, they began taking vegetation samples, in particular a flower called the rose. We never thought much of it,"

"All activities of the Empire of Nemesis are supposed to be reported directly to me, yet these runs were not once mentioned to me! There is a traitor in my kingdom, someone with great influence. Whoever it is, they will be made to pay for their transgressions. By chance, did you recognize any other significant features, like an insignia, anything at all?"

"Let's see… Jun, wasn't there a red mark on the ships?"

"Yeah, there was,"

"Was it by chance an eclipsed moon?"

"That was it exactly Relyna,"

"That putrid, vile, disgusting worm! To think I actually trusted him. How could I fall for all of his lies, the deceit, I will make sure he pays,"

"Who was it?"

"My husband, Genosa Maxamillion DeVice II. When I first met him, he seemed nice, but I began feeling that he was not what he seemed. I never imagined it could have been so unbelievable,"

"What will you do? You can't possibly return to Nemesis without a ship. It's far too dangerous,"

"You may be right, Jun, but you two took the risk of the first trip to this world. Nemesis has just begun to put its past behind it. It could easily slip back into dark times. And without a sound mind to lead them, much less one as evil as I'm sure Genosa is… I can't sit by and do nothing,"

They all sat silently for a moment without looking at each other. There was a tension, very strong, hanging above them. Do they sit back as Nemesis drifts to the deep darkness it was in when Jun and Yamiyugi left or do they allow Relyna to risk her life for a world that may already be damned to the abyss. The choice was simple.

"Relyna, we will be glad to help the Queen of Nemesis in any way that we can,"

"Thank you so much Yamiyugi. Thank you Jun,"

"No problem. We will find a way to set things right. Shouldn't you be off to fetch your little girlfriend, Yamu?"

"Yamu? You have a girlfriend and she doesn't even know your name?"

"No, Yamiyugi's girlfriend just "prefers" it better than his real name," Jun and Relyna began laughing. Yamiyugi gave a sarcastic giggle as he vanished after his girlfriend.

"It has been a long time since I have had a good laugh like this,"

"We'll have a lot more when this is done, now that we have found each other,"

"I suppose so,"

"I think that I would have to disagree. You all know too much. That could jeopardize my plans. As King of Nemesis, I must say that what you want to do could be seen as treason, or even a declaration of war," Genosa appeared in the sky, backing the moon.

"Genosa! How dare you do this! I trusted you and you repay me by engaging in a secret campaign in a world you told me no one knew existed!?"

"You must forgive me for that. It seems that after years of flawless operations one of this planet's forces acquired the ship that was to destroy, I mean escort, yours. It was a tragic loss that had the Earth as a hostile aggressor whom was responsible for the death of the beloved Empress, leading to my assumption of the vacated throne and burdening a demand for retribution. I, of course, am obliged to do as the people wish, thus, I am here to confirm your demise. You must still realize that it was a complete shock to me to discover that the infamous Jun and Yamiyugi Rosencraft Crawford had survived their journey,"

"You little monster! You were going to cause all those problems, for what possible reason?" Jun angrily rebuked.

"Power, of course. Is that not why you and your brother agreed to help my wife? I'm sure you know that, with your father and mother both dead; it was you who would have automatically assumed Relyna's crown. But that is assuming you ever return to Nemesis,"

"And why wouldn't we?"

Yamiyugi had returned with Teana in hand. Teana was one of the most popular girls in school. Yamiyugi, under the alias Yamu, became the target of anger from Teana's admirers as a kid they knew nothing about stole their dreams from them, right from under their noses. As young as he and Jun were, attending school was a natural part of the cover they prepared for themselves, though Yamiyuigi was unsure at first how to deal with the aggression directed his way for something he didn't think he did.

"Hello young Yamiyugi. I was awaiting your return. And you brought a putrid little human with you. I…" Before he could continue, Teana's fingers were creased into his throat.

"You can let go Teana. I want to hear what he has to say,"

"Fine Yamu, but he better watch his tongue or I may remove it for him,"

"It is good you called off your pet. I'm sure she wouldn't want to be the reason her planet was destroyed,"

"Explain yourself immediately!" Relyna demanded.

"So much anger. There was a good reason I married you. But enough games for now. It's time for some answers. For instance, I bet Jun and Yamiyugi didn't know that their father was working for me. I used him to get you two out of the way. But when he messed up, there was too much support for a search so I had to wait. He was still under my control when he made your mother kill your father, Relyna Liquer. If she wasn't so weak she may have survived the strain that the Death Blade forces on its wielder. I tried to control you too but you actually proved a challenge, and that fool Norman. I had to kill him because he wouldn't stop disrupting my plans,"

"I don't get what's going on, but it sounds like you've done some pretty terrible stuff. Is there any reason you shouldn't die then?" Teana taunted.

"Like I said, foolish girl, you wouldn't want to have your planet destroyed. At this moment, the Nemesis fleet, which destroyed and conquered our galaxy, has stationed itself just outside this planet's orbit. If I am killed, they will automatically begin turning your planet here to dust. If you fail to surrender, I will still demolish this planet. Your surrender will guarantee that a decent portion of the population will survive, under my control. The choice remains with you, but I can imagine what your response will be. No matter what, I will be the winner! Ha ha ha!"

"There is no way you could have transported an entire battle fleet here under your own power. Your threat is no more than a bluff,"

"You're right. I can't transport an entire force as large as that, but I don't need to. After you left, I put in motion a fusion of these two galaxies. I disapproved of the barbaric method of using a single tear as a means of transportation, so I turned the tear into a permanent gate. The council of mages on this planet must not tell their people much, otherwise you would have heard about the dozens of human facilities that we have taken what we needed from,"

"What do you mean 'We'?"

"I said that you had to surrender. I never said that you had to die. You have two options when you surrender. You can either join me to continue exploring and conquering worlds, or you could choose an eternity locked away in the Abyss Realm,"

"What is the Abyss Realm?"

"It is a world that was created when the galaxies were made dyadic. Contact between the Earth and Nemesis expands the depth of the barren universe. The only light comes from a pair of moons, each representing either world. The world is nothing but an expanse of solid land covered in a shadow of mist and fog. If you care to venture far enough, you will find yourself right back where you started. You will have no choice but to wait for your minds to slip away as the shadows creep into darkness and engulf your minds,"

"You can't be serious! I would never listen to your voice the rest of my life,"

"My brother is right. But we do not want any harm to befall this planet. I will accept your punishment of your so-called Abyss Realm. But know this; we will find a way to escape and make you pay for any destruction you cause,"

That was all Lynette really knew of her mother's past. The events afterwards were scratchy and fragmented to say the least. All these things she knew only by her own memories and what her mother told her.

Lynette admired her mother Relyna because of how powerful she was and how simplistic she made the most difficult situations. Lynette however, adopted her lust for power from her father, Genosa DeVice, II. Although she found his methodology less than an inspiration, he did have the determination and the mindset that she developed. She loved power. Lynette dreamed it, she wanted nothing more than to bask in it and continue growing in strength. The sheer, sweet, serenity that she saw in it was indescribable, making her appetite more insatiable than one can believe, in turn making her even deadlier. She will stop at nothing to achieve her goals, a noble yet dangerous quality.

As her ship continued its pass through space, circling a small planet, she was brought back from her journey through her thoughts and into reality once more.

"Lady Lynette, I am disappointed to inform you that, though we stopped the resistance on planet Altelia, they are still refusing information about the blade,"

"Very well. Have all Hawks return to the ship at once. We will just have to continue on to the next planet,"

"All Hawks are now back ma'am," replied a Hawk working the controls several minutes later. "We are now outside the planet's orbit,"

"Lady Lynette. An unidentified object is approaching from the Altelia surface. It appears to be an explosive projectile. It's locked on to our ship. Should I return fire?"

"That won't be necessary. Continue on course,"

"As you wish, Lady Lynette,"

Lynette snapped her fingers. The small, small, planet just beyond the Jalnus star system was no more. Lynette turned it into a supernova, lighting outer space in a brilliant flash. She moved forward with a sigh of disappointment, the Rosencraft already tracking her.


	13. Chapter 26 - The Sheltering Wings

CHAPTER 26: The Sheltering Wings of The Protector

It had not been the start to their journey that they were hoping for. A month into their trip through space and they were already facing more troubles than they would care to deal with.

It started when they made it to Altelia, or what was left of it. Thinking themselves somehow lost, they landed on the nearby planet of Nevius. They discovered from the citizens there that only a few days earlier, the planet Altelia was under siege. A ship set up orbit just outside the planet's orbit. It reminded the elders of the flagships the Nemesis fleet used to use long ago. When the ship pulled away about a day later, the planet blew up. Nevius had feared that the ship would return to their meager planet, but they had not seen the ship since. The Rosencraft could not believe that Lynette would destroy an entire planet with no thought as to the lives she would destroy. They were quick to get back into space and track down Lynette.

Lynette was obviously not expecting them to track her down. She was not traveling very fast at all and the Rosencraft were closing in on her. When they had found her, the two ships engaged in a battle. They fired their ship weapons at each other, both ships taking heavy damage. In the end, Lynette escaped them once again by passing through a wormhole. When the Rosencraft attempted to follow, they found no sight of her on the other side. What was worse, the battle had damaged many of their more vital mechanical parts including the sensor array and their uplink to the Earth satellite systems they were using to keep an eye on things back home. Having lost visual contact of Lynette's ship and no longer having their sensors, they were forced to take a straight line path through the region of space hoping that they would eventually stumble across a planet where they could get supplies to repair the ship.

"You know," Tea began.

It had been a few days. After happening upon a couple planets and finding nothing that they could use, they were getting bored and anxious. Tea, Rini, Anzu, May, Lafiel, Runa, and Sisi were sitting in the theater looking at the display of the large green planet circled by moons that was planet Lunatte. The guys had 'volunteered' to go on an expedition onto the green giant for a fact-finding mission. Three days, no news, no information about what was happening. Honestly, they were bored stiff. Although their planet searches were dull – dull as a dark, cold, wet cellar – it was a somewhat welcomed change from the tedium of life on a ship devoid of entertainment. Since their run in with Lynette and the ensuing chase that lasted for upwards of eight hours five days ago, they were itching for any kind of excitement.

"You know Anzu and Rini, you two promised I would get to see you both duel,"

"You were promised a duel from Anastasia, not Rini or me," Anzu replied, apparently so bored she didn't even feel energetic enough to try to do anything.

"Tea's right. I've known you two for a long time and never once saw either of you or Anastasia duel,"

"I'm with Sisi. I only know the legends of your duels. My title of Queen won't mean anything until I duel you three,"

"Too bad your only subjects are those who duel on Earth," Rini jokingly jeered.

"Is that a challenge, Rini?"

"Not at all, Runa. Just a little observation,"

"Okay, Tea. I think Anastasia might be willing to have some fun," Rini answered, seeming fired up now. Anzu didn't seem to care all that much, lackadaisically getting up. In a moment, Anzu and Rini merged, and the elegant figure of the united queens of the former kingdom of Sancrien appeared.

"Welcome Anastasia. It's great to see you again. Up for a friendly duel?"

"Sure Tea. I did say a while ago that I would show you how I duel,"

"Let's go to the rec room. We can test out Noa's VR toy," May suggested.

"That sounds like a good plan," Runa agreed.

The rec room was exactly as it sounded, if only a bit more technologically advanced. It was a room about the size of an average high school classroom. On a more conventional ship this place would likely be for exercise to stave off the negative physical effects of zero gravity. Her, however, it was an entertainment area for whatever one wanted to do, dueling included. Or, if you only wanted to relax, the VR system created lifelike holographic projections across every surface of the room, coupled with a sophisticated environmental control system. This allowed you to recreate any location in the ship's database, or with a few tweaks, any location you can think of.

"I think it's a great place to duel. Are you ready?" Tea summed up.

"Of course. I think I will allow you the honor of beginning this sure to be outstanding duel," Anastasia conceded.

"Very well. First, I play Pot of Greed. Then I place this monster face down. Whenever you're ready Anastasia,"

"All right, I summon Sasuke Samurai #1 and I equip it with Heart of Clear Water. My samurai can destroy any face down defense position monster when it attacks. Its equip card protects it from being destroyed by battle or monster effects. I will take out your defense and end my turn,"

"My turn. I play Mystical Space Typhoon on Heart of Clear Water. Then I activate the Black Luster Ritual by sacrificing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to do so. I then set this card. Now attack, Black Luster Soldier. Your Sasuke Samurai is destroyed and you lose 2400 life points,"

"Nicely done, Tea. Okay then, I play Mask of the Accursed on your Black Luster Soldier. Followed to that is my Block Attack spell card, shifting your soldier to defense mode. Next I play Monster Reborn and sacrifice the special summoned monster so I may summon Dark Tyranno. If all of your monsters are in defense mode I am free to attack your life points directly. That's 2600 damage. I set a card and end my turn,"

"I draw,"

"I activate Thunder of Ruler,"

"That's okay, I wasn't planning on a battle phase this turn anyway. I activate Soul Exchange to tribute your Dark Tyranno. In addition, I tribute my Black Luster Soldier and stop your Mask from costing me any more Life Points. I use those tributes to summon Maju Garzett, with attack strength of 5600. Your move,"

"I set one monster and end my turn,"

"I draw. Then I attack your face down monster,"

"Thank you. You activated my Fiber Jar. This monster forces each of us to combine their entire field, hand and graveyard into their deck, shuffle, and then draw a new hand of five cards,"

"I set one monster before ending my turn,"

"Don't you use any spells or traps? You're wide open for an attack, like this. I activate Change of Heart. I sacrifice your monster to summon Magical Marionette. I then equip it with Black Pendant to raise its attack to 2700. I will attack you directly,"

"My turn. I use Dark Hole. Then I summon Lord of D. Next I will use The Flute of Summoning Dragon to summon two Blue-Eyes White Dragons. This attack will end it,"

"Not quite. I use Kuriboh to negate the damage from all of your Blue-Eyes attacks,"

"Two Kuribohs, very lucky. I set one card and end my turn,"

"I activate Pot of Greed. Then I use Graceful Charity. Next I activate Alchemist Spell, sending two monsters in my hand to the Graveyard so I could bring out the Black Skull Dragon. I set a card, use Premature Burial, and revive the Buster Blader I sent to my grave. I think I'll take care of your two dragons. My turn is done,"

"I draw and use Pot of Greed. I set one monster and two magic cards. Your move. Either way, it will be your last,"

"Is that a threat, Tea?"

"Just a promise,"

"We shall see, won't we? I use Cost Down, which allows me to summon a higher level monster with fewer tributes. I summon Jinzo, which will deactivate those two traps you have face down. Now, Jinzo will attack your face down monster."

"You attacked my Cyber Jar. We destroy our monsters on our field, draw five cards and immediately summon or set any level four or lower monsters. Anything we can't place on the field gets sent to the grave,"

"I set two monsters,"

"Perfect. I must summon my two Amazoness Paladin and my Amazoness Tiger. I then activate my two facedown magic cards, White Dragon Ritual. I send two monsters in my hand to the grave. I use one of them to summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Finally I use Raigeki to destroy your defenses and have my entire field attack. Game over,"

"Very nicely done. You are a powerful duelist. I bet your record is as spotless as mine was before this duel," Anastasia lightly chuckled.

"Almost, but you didn't play as well as you could. You held back a lot," Tea sighed, exaggerating a bit how winded she was.

"Look who's talking? You held back too and you know it," Anastasia countered.

The rest of the ladies had been watching from the side in wonder. Even Runa had to take time to understand the duel which just took place. For that battle to have been a carefree, casual match, Anastasia and Tea were in another league altogether. Their dueling skills were simply remarkable. Runa was highly intrigued; almost as excited as she was when she began her duel against Yugi.

In the meantime, the guys were on the planet's surface trying to locate the parts they needed. They were having better luck than on their previous stops, having already located the parts for the uplink. What made this trip particularly bad was the heat. It was like a heated rainforest. There were a lot of trees, every road and walkway lined with trees. Combined with the very intense sunlight it was making the air very humid.

To make things even worse, this planet was notorious for having a hang up about individuals that use magic. The atmosphere actually rendered individuals at a lower than normal magic energy level. The police force was very strict, using weapons that restrained any type of magic. The guys walked around hunched over, very exhausted.

"Why are we here again?"

"We're here, Kenshin, because we need to fix the ship,"

"I know that Noa. I meant, why aren't the girls here?"

"Did you want to convince your sister to come down here instead of us?" Yugi prodded.

"I'm just saying, Yugi, why do we always let them force us into these kind of things?"

"Between your sister, Lafiel, and my cousins, I don't think trying to push them into anything would be beneficial to our health. Tea may be back to herself, but knowing that she is even capable of such immense power, I rather not do anything that might provoke her." They all thought about Yami's words for a moment and it made them shudder.

"I agree with Yami. I was thinking about something; I never saw May or Sisi very upset before,"

"Trust us when we say that you don't want to, Yugi. The last time they were very upset we had to nearly rebuild the castle in the Shadow Realm,"

"Then forget my next question,"

"Where are we going right now anyway?" Kenshin asked, languishing in the heat.

"There is supposed to be another town in this direction that might have a dealer who has the part we need. Oh, wait,"

"What's wrong, Noa?"

"I forgot to find out the power band that the ship uses,"

"Shouldn't you be able to remember something like that since you built it? Whose going to go all the way back and get it?"

"I can't,"

"Why not, Yami?"

"Because, as commander and Pharaoh, I have the responsibility of overseeing the proper acquisition of the necessary items,"

"You're kidding me," Noa scoffed.

"It's between you three,"

"Jaken?"

"Jaken."

"1… 2… 3!"

"Looks like you lose Yugi. Scissors cut paper," Kenshin and Noa both celebrated in unison.

"You've got to be kidding me? How did you both pick scissors?"

"Thanks Yugi. We'll see you soon,"

Getting their sensors back was critical. Lynette and Trinity were masking their energy signal very well so tracking that way was impossible. They were not sure at all where Lynette was. She was, in fact, very close to them. Her ship was parked on the opposite side of the planet. Lynette and Trinity were with their entourage on the surface of the planet looking to repair their own engines that were damaged in the last encounter with Yami and friends.

"This planet is really doing a number on my hair,"

"I never thought you for being so vane, Trinity,"

"I'm not vane, Lynette. I'm just concerned about having to take care of my hair once we get off this planet. I hate it here. To think that such a pathetic planet would be able to restrict our powers like this,"

"You'll be fine, I'm sure. Just make sure that you keep your powers in check or you really will feel your powers limited,"

"You would think a planet this advanced would know something about the sword,"

"They have a real dislike for magic. The sword we seek is forged from the strongest magic. It only makes sense that they would not know anything about it,"

"Ugh! This is a wretched place. We should destroy it when we're done,"

"I don't destroy planets if I don't have a good reason, and your bad hair day is not a good reason,"

"I can't take it here any longer. I'm going back to the ship,"

"Fine, at least that way you will stay out of trouble,"

She turned and started back towards the docking station where her ship was. As she walked through the city that they had left no more than fifteen minutes ago, she sulked as she held the end of her hair in her hands, stroking it and complaining of the split ends. Yugi was coming in the opposite direction staring at the ground. He was thinking about how he would get back at Yami, Noa, and Kenshin. Maybe he could get Runa to do something. Second thought lent him the thought that telling her to get back at the three of them would be the equivalent of signing their death warrant.

Trinity and Yugi were not paying very close attention to where they were going and walked directly into each other.

"Hey, watch where you're going,"

"I'm very sorry,"

"Well next time…"

They looked up and realized whom they were talking to. They paused for a moment, waiting to see what the other was going to do and considering how they would react. Trinity was the first to make a move. She drew her sword and slashed at Yugi. He dodged the first strike and was nearly given a hair cut with the second. From her free hand she fired an energy blast at him. Yugi deflected the shot skywards. Trinity came back with her sword pressing down on his shield. She was smiling at Yugi as she was trying to press through his shield.

"I'm happy to see you Yugi. I was getting bored on this planet. Have you finally decided to come along with me?"

"I was hoping that you had decided to stop siding with Lynette, but I guess I would be wrong about that," Their meeting was interrupted by gunfire. Trinity jumped out of the way. Several bullets struck Yugi's shield and neutralized it.

"Don't move! You are under arrest for capital crimes!"

"He started it," she childishly declared, pointing at Yugi.

"Oh, that is real mature,"

"Well, it is your fault. You should have been paying attention to where I was walking,"

While the two bickered, an officer placed a set of handcuffs on the two of them. They first looked at the officer who handcuffed them, and then they realized that they were linked to each other. They tried to pull away but it was no use. The handcuffs were sealing their powers.

"This isn't happening," Yugi sighed in disbelief.

"Hey, get these off me right now!"

"Quiet lady! You and the boy will take it up with the judge,"

"Don't we have any rights?"

"No filthy witches have rights here,"

"Who are you calling filthy?"

"Maybe you should stop talking, before you get us in any more trouble,"

"You should listen to your boyfriend,"

"Wait… What?" Yugi reacted in a start.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Trinity vehemently denied.

"Whatever,"

They were pushed into the back of a van and driven to their holding cell at the police station. Trinity had protested the entire way there and was still protesting as they took away her sword. Yugi sat on the bench in the cell wondering just how he was going to get out of this. There was no telling how long it would take for the others to find out that he was missing, and then there was the whole problem of finding him on the massive planet that was nearly five times the size of Earth. Of all the towns on all the planets, why did Trinity have to run into him on this one?

"Well, what are you going to do to get me out of here?" she asked Yugi.

"What do you mean?"

"You're supposed to be the good guy, right? Well I am the damsel in distress, wrongfully imprisoned for a crime that I didn't commit because of you. It is your responsibility as the knight in shining armor to set the maiden free,"

"First of all, I would hardly call you a damsel in distress. Second, you can't claim to be innocent if you don't even know what crime you're being accused of. And finally, if you haven't noticed, I am in here too, so I am not in quite the position to rescue anyone. I'm sure that I will be released after my day in court once I explain that I was simply defending myself from a homicidal maniac,"

"Hah ha hah. Very funny,"

"Can't you contact Lynette or something?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing about Tea," They sighed and were silent for a little while.

"Why are you so evil?"

"That's a stupid question,"

"I'm serious. Why are you so intent on making Tea's life miserable?"

"Like I said, it is a stupid question. I'm not intent on making her life miserable. I want power and getting rid of her and the rest of your friends will only make it easier. I offered you the chance to come with me before. The offer still stands. I'm sure Lynette will be glad to have you with us,"

"No thank you. I don't like hurting people,"

"Maybe you need to spend a night with me so that you can grow up. Do you honestly think that you have never hurt anyone?"

"Do you honestly think that your only purpose in life is to become more powerful? You can be a lot more than that. You don't have to be this way,"

"I can't change who I am. I'm not going to pretend to be someone that I am not,"

"I don't think that you are evil,"

"I am just like Tea, except I don't pretend that I am someone else. In case you have forgotten, I was made up from Tea's Soul Fragments. Unlike her, I am not afforded the luxury of pretending I am not the way I am inside. You all think that she hated it when she killed all those people. But I know that she only hated the fact that she couldn't enjoy more of it. She can act like she is nice, sweet, and quiet, but I know that she is not like that inside. If she had the chance, she would destroy you all faster than me,"

"I don't believe it,"

"What, that Tea is so evil hearted? I am only a reflection of her heart. What did you expect me to turn out like?"

"No, I don't believe any of it. I know that Tea regretted that she couldn't stop herself from killing those people. I also don't believe that you are plain evil. I know that you have a choice, but for some reason you have been convinced otherwise. It doesn't matter how you came to be. You always have a choice to change your life,"

"Whatever," Trinity turned away and backed Yugi. An officer came to their cell.

"You two have a little bit of luck. It seems that the court is adjourned for the next several days. You will get to live for at least a week longer,"

"What are we being charged for?"

"Explicit use of illegal substance, public endangerment, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit treason, the list goes on. You'll be lucky to get a trial at this rate," He walked away laughing.

"You're lucky I can't use my powers in this stupid cell. Just you wait until I get out of here. I'm going to show you public endangerment!" Trinity vehemently shouted.

Yami, Kenshin, and Noa had since returned to the ship. The dealer they found did not have the part they needed in any form. They thought that Yugi might have been on his way back to find them, until they found out that he had never come back to the ship to begin with. Their first thought was that while Anastasia and Tea were having their duel, Yugi came and went. But ship access records showed that it was not the case. Needless to say, Runa, not to mention Anastasia and Lafiel, were not too happy.

"How could you have lost him!?"

"Calm down, Runa. I'm sure he's fine,"

"Fine? You don't even know where he is, Kenshin! What if he's hurt?"

"Let's go look for him, all right Anastasia? I'm sure that we will find him very soon,"

"We better Noa! This is your fault too, Yami,"

"Yes ma'am,"

"We have to hurry. It gets really cold on this planet at night,"

Lynette was not as concerned about Trinity as the Rosencraft were about Yugi. She sat in her ship practicing small magic spells. It was her entertainment for the time being, having found a temporary replacement for the damaged component to her engine.

"Your majesty, Lady Trinity has not returned as of yet,"

"I suppose she went off to entertain herself. She is as difficult to entertain as a spoiled brat. How long until the component is in place?"

"It should be done in about twelve hours. The damage to the engine control systems was more extensive than we first thought. We will have to completely redirect the computer control system and engage a new control protocol,"

"Fine. We will depart from this wretched planet in twenty four hours,"

"And miss Trinity?"

"If she's not back by then, we will leave without her,"

"As you command my Queen,"

Four hours later night was falling. Yugi and Trinity were left by themselves in the jail. The guard had taken his keys and locked them inside. If they had their powers, it would not have mattered. But the keys were their last chance to get out of the cell and out of the jail. After the guard left, Yugi resolved to get some rest. Trinity had already done so. He was now stirring out of that sleep. It was dark. A single light gave off a very dull glow. It was cold, hard to believe considering how hot it had been earlier. Trinity was sitting on her cot. Yugi took the top cover off his own cot and placed it over Trinity's shoulders.

"It's not much, but it should still help just a little,"

"Thank you,"

"No problem. I don't have much, but you can have some of this. It's only candy, but it will keep us from starving until we figure a way out of this," She hesitantly took a piece of candy from Yugi's hand.

"Yugi?"

"Yeah?"

"Yugi, why are you being so nice to me? I've been so mean to you. I tried to kill you and your friends. I've been horrible to you ever since we met. I have blamed you for getting us caught in here even though it wasn't your fault and you still haven't said a mean or harsh word to me once. I'm the one that destroyed at least half a dozen cities and towns on Earth, killed millions of people and blamed Tea for all of it. I ruined your life and I haven't even showed a single bit of remorse towards you. You should hate me,"

"While you haven't made my life any easier, you didn't ruin it either. I guess part of the reason is that you are part of Tea. I know you killed a lot of people, but knowing that you are a part of Tea means that you cannot be completely evil. You also killed Genosa. He was the one to ruin my life. After my parents died, I always thought that, no matter what happened, as long as I had Tea and my grandpa, I would be okay and that everything would always turn out fine. Genosa killed my grandfather and made Tea lose control. It was his fault that you came into being in the first place. I hated him for all of it and you were the one to kill him. When I saw it happen, I was shocked and surprised because I thought that you were Tea, but I was also kind of happy regardless of who you were. Thinking about it afterwards, I kind of envied you and Tea. You all didn't seem to have a single care about anything other than your own self-preservation and I wondered what it must have felt like. I kind of wanted to be like that; not thinking of what other people wanted or how what I did might affect them, living an existence where the only thought or concern to me was becoming more powerful. Sometimes I had wished that you would keep your promise and take me away to conquer outer space,"

"Then why don't you? We could live together forever as our own masters. We could have all of eternity to cater to every fanciful whim that comes to our minds and not give a second thought to what happens. We have a power greater than anything else in the universe. Why should we care about lowly creatures that we could destroy with just a thought?"

"Because it's our responsibility. We may have incredible powers, but that doesn't give us the right to cause pain to others. I remembered the pain I had when I lost my parents, when I found my grandpa dead, and when Tea was missing. I thought about all the people that would feel the same way and realized that I would be just like Genosa. I had fun and I enjoyed my life before I had to deal with Genosa and I didn't have to needlessly kill anyone. Protecting may be more difficult than killing, but I would rather protect people than kill them,"

"Why would you want to waste your time protecting those creatures? They are the same ones that have been so quick to call you and your friends monsters. They want nothing more than to see you dead,"

"That may be, but we will still protect them because there is always a hope in the next generation. We have all of eternity; we can wait for a generation or two," The door of the building opened and two police officers walked in.

"Time's up,"

"What is going on?" Yugi asked.

"It seems that the judge has heard about your actions and has ordered that your trial be held immediately in the morning. You're going to take a little ride tonight,"

One of the guards opened the cell and placed a set of handcuffs binding Yugi and Trinity together again. They were escorted into the back of a car and taken on a drive out of the town. They drove for close to an hour before the car stopped near an open field. The guards took their captives out of the car and directed them to the top of a small hill.

"What are we doing here?" Trinity asked.

"We are here to hold your trial,"

"What do you mean hold our trial? Here? It's the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere!"

"Look lady, you really need to shut up and stop asking questions,"

"How dare you talk to me like that?"

"You shouldn't talk to her like that," Yugi parroted.

"Look here you little punk, we don't need to answer to any disgusting witch and its playmate, so just keep quiet and wait for the judge to get here,"

After a moment's pause there was a low noise. It was becoming progressively louder. The guards began to walk back to their cars as the sound became thunderous. Trinity and Yugi had no idea what was coming, but they noticed that, of the twelve moons that circled the planet, only now was the twelfth moon coming above the horizon. They also noticed that their own powers had grown very slightly. They then saw the judge. A massive beast came forward and blocked out the twelfth moon. Yugi and Trinity backed away as the creature moved in. It smelled of blood and decay. It was covered in a thick fur. It had a long, thick tail. Its face looked like a hogs.

"The judge only passes judgment at night. It seems that his ruling is that you must die,"

"You have to be kidding me? What kind of trial is this?"

"It is not the time to argue with them, Trinity. How much of your power has returned?"

"Not much, but enough to break these stupid things," She placed a finger on the handcuffs and they shattered to a thousand pieces.

"That's better. I think that if we avoid it long enough, we should be able to last until the moon fully rises,"

"Pretty quick thinking Yugi, but I don't think his honor is going to make it easy,"

The beast began a sprint towards the two of them. They ran out of the way but were both struck by the creature's tail. They were quick to recover. So was the beast as it snapped its jaw shut almost taking Trinity's head off. Yugi pulled her back at the last possible second.

"It's a demon," Yugi affirmed.

"What is a demon doing on this planet?"

"I don't know, but we have to destroy it,"

"Finally, I was waiting to hear that. Unfortunately we're not quite in the position to have any fun with this,"

"I've only got one idea,"

"So do I. I don't like it much, but I can't think of anything else right now,"

The beast slashed at them again. It missed and tried to take a bite out of them again. They jumped backwards and then took to the air. They both summoned their monsters, Slifer the Sky Dragon and Obelisk the Tormentor.

The creature grabbed Slifer the Sky Dragon in one hand. Obelisk punched the demon and it immediately released Slifer. The demon retaliated by swinging its tail around to strike Obelisk. Slifer took its turn, letting loose a quick blast. The demon cried out but was not out of the battle. It lashed out at Slifer but was struck down by Obelisk. Obelisk followed up with its special attack, shattering every bone in the demon's body. Slifer finished of the demon with its own special attack.

Yugi and Trinity had used up the last of the energy they had to summon the two Saint Beasts. The dragon and warrior disappeared as the two unlikely allies collapsed to the ground, hardly enough energy left in their bodies to sit up, much less do anything else.

"I don't remember ever feeling so tired after summoning Obelisk,"

"I don't remember ever feeling this tired at all,"

"Thank you for saving me Yugi. You were so… kind…"

"Trinity? Are you all right?" He reached over and held her hand. She had fallen straight to sleep. Yugi was able to pull off his cape. He covered Trinity with it and fell right to sleep as well.

The guards that brought them there had long since run away. The display had gone unnoticed by Lynette or the Rosencraft. They were asleep; it was well past midnight. Lynette went to sleep without as much as a thought as to where Trinity was. She was sure that wherever she was, she would be able to handle herself fine. The Rosencraft were also sure that Yugi could take care of himself, but for him to be missing so long was very unsettling. They went on a search for him as long as they could. When night fell, they decided to restart their search first thing in the morning.

Morning found Trinity and Yugi locked away once again. They were in a holding cell not too different from the one they were in the day before. It was kind of depressing to find that they were back under lock and key. Trinity was very upset.

"I'm tired of this!" she screamed with very apparent frustration.

"We must have used up all of our energy when we summoned Slifer and Obelisk and passed out,"

"I don't care how it happened. Hey, you! Let us out of here," she was shouting at a guard at the front desk.

"I suggest you keep it down miss. You all killed a judge. The other judges aren't going to be too happy when they get here,"

"Do you realize that your so-called judges are demons?"

"Demons you say? I don't know or care about such things, boy. I only do what I'm told to do, and my orders are to keep you two in that cell until the judges get here,"

"Do you even know anything about taking orders? You don't take the orders of a grunt over a commander? Do you even know who he is?"

"I already told you lady, I don't care,"

"He is the Pharaoh, you know, ruler of the universe?"

"That's funny. You want me to believe, that little pipsqueak is the Pharaoh? In case you have been under a rock the past thirteen thousand and some odd years, the Pharaoh from Nemesis died trying to stop his brother from stealing his throne. Ever since, we have outlawed magic on this planet. You might want to change your story,"

"What are you talking about?" Yugi asked, unaware of either Trinity or the guard's claims.

"I don't care anymore. Lynette wanted me to leave this planet in one piece, but I am getting tired of dealing with this,"

"What are you going to do? You can't break out of that cell," the guard scoffed.

"You are way too ignorant to understand,"

Trinity began to build her energy. Yugi stood back. He had not thought Trinity had absorbed so much energy over the night while they were under the moons. The guard stumbled out of his chair and towards the door.

"What… How are you doing that? You're not supposed to have any energy left,"

"And you obviously don't understand the power of a full blooded Lucifer Hawk,"

The frightened and panicked guard fumbled at the door trying to get out. He scrambled out of the door, leaving it wide open. When he was gone, Trinity returned to her previous level of energy, which somewhat surprised Yugi.

"You stopped,"

"Like I said, I promised Lynette I wouldn't destroy this planet, so I won't,"

She sent a very small sphere of energy into the lock of the cell. It blew the door open and they were free. They were, that is, until they walked outside. People with guns surrounded the entrance. Yugi and Trinity stopped dead in their tracks. Yugi was prepared to surrender once again, but Trinity did not seem to be ready to do the same. There was a sudden explosion behind the armed mob followed by a second explosion. When the crowd turned around, they saw that it was Yami and the Rosencraft facing Lynette and several Hawks. The people scattered and took shelter in their buildings.

"Stand down Yami,"

"I don't think so Lynette. I am not going to allow you to do what you did to Altelia to this planet,"

"You couldn't expect me to leave them as they were? They gave me far too much trouble. Then they had the nerve to try and attack my ship. However, I am not planning to destroy this stupid planet. I know you know as well as I do that our energies are diminished thanks to what these fools did to their atmosphere. I don't know how or why, but they don't seem to like us Craft users very much,"

"With the likes of you on the loose, I can imagine why,"

"Very funny, Yami. Fine, here is the deal. All I want is to get off this planet. Seeing as how Trinity is already here, I will be taking my leave immediately. In return, I will not kill theses people for having the audacity to point their childish toys at me,"

"What guarantee do I have that you will not harm any of these people?"

"Honestly Yami, if you can't trust me, then who can you trust?" She smiled at him but he did not return the smile. "Seriously. If you thought I was going to bother destroying these people, don't you think I would have done so by now rather than wasting my time talking it over with you? I want to do battle in a more ideal situation, not on a planet where our powers are so severely limited,"

"All right. I will let you leave,"

"Are you sure about this Yami?" Anzu whispered.

"She's not being too shy about the level of energy she is freely exuding. There are too many innocents around to call her bluff and battle,"

"You are intelligent indeed. Come on Trinity, you had your fun. Let's finally get out of here,"

"See you around, Yugi. I had fun," Lynette and her Hawk escorts turned and walked away. Trinity took to the air and threw Yugi's cape back down to him. "Here is something to remember me by,"

Trinity fired a blast of energy at Yugi. He reacted without thinking, firing a blast back to neutralize Trinity's attack. When the dust cleared, Lynette, Trinity and the Lucifer Hawks were gone. Yugi sighed with relief. His cape floated down unharmed. He was not quite as lucky, as Rini was strangling him.

"Oh, Yugi, I was so worried about you. Are you okay? Did that little witch do anything to hurt you?" Runa walked over and tapped Rini on the shoulder.

"Do you mind giving my husband some room to breathe," she said as she stroked Yugi's hair. "Can't you see he has been through a horrible experience?"

"Not as horrible as you two hounding him," Lafiel added as she pushed Rini and Runa away from Yugi. "Let me take care of my boyfriend,"

"If you recall, Yugi was leading in our duel before we finished it, therefore, he would be declared the winner by default, meaning that he would have to marry me,"

"No. The deal was that if he beat you, he would have to marry me,"

"Sorry, but I think you are both forgetting who he met first. It was love at first sight, so he is going to be my husband,"

As the three women made their arguments, Yugi thought for a brief moment about how much more peaceful it had been with Trinity. Now that their secret of wielding the Craft was out, they took no second thoughts of teleporting to the ship. Once on the ship, Yugi took a seat and just relaxed, taking in the sound of Rini, Runa, and Lafiel's continued debate. He began to think about just how much about his time with Trinity he would actually tell them. Tea came over with a glass of juice.

"Here you go Yugi. I thought that you might need something to drink,"

"Thank you Tea," He expected her to stay and ask him some questions, but she walked away with only a smile.

"How are you feeling?" Yami asked him.

"I'm doing all right, considering everything,"

"You can imagine our surprise that you were with Trinity,"

"I ran into her while heading back here. She attacked me and I had to deflect one of her energy attacks. That was when they handcuffed us and put us in the jail,"

"Sorry about that Yugi,"

"Don't worry about it Yami. It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I don't think she has total control over her own thoughts,"

"I didn't think so,"

"You knew?"

"The Soul Fragments were docile until being forged into Trinity. They then became uncontrollably violent. I believe that she has been brainwashed. Trinity hardly has any memories that she should have, being that she is supposed to be a culmination of Tea's scattered memories,"

"So, she doesn't realize what she is doing?"

"She only knows what she has been made to know. As far as Trinity is concerned, she is doing what is right. That is what she has been taught and what she believes,"

"Will we have to destroy her?"

"I don't know,"

"We can't let her continue to kill people. But I don't want to destroy her if we don't have to,"

"You're a very kind hearted person,"

"Yeah, she said the same thing," He whispered to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something I heard. You never had a brother, did you?"

"No, why?"

"One of the guards said that the Pharaoh from Nemesis had died thirteen thousand years ago when he was trying to defend his throne from his brother," Yami froze with a ghastly expression. Anzu must have overheard the conversation because she too was frozen as she dropped a cup to the floor. "Anzu, are you okay?"

"Um, yeah, I'm fine Yugi. It just slipped, that's all. It must be the atmosphere on this planet. I think that I'll go and take a break for a little bit, lay down for a while," She walked away without saying anything else. Rini was concerned and followed her.

"What's wrong? Did I say something?"

"No Yugi. Like she said, it's probably the atmosphere. Are we ready to go Noa?"

"Yes we are Yami. We'll be on our way in a moment,"

"That's good. We will have to find a new planet that has the part we need to repair the deep space sensor,"

"I think that I might be able to rewire the second uplink we retrieved for the satellite into a workable crossover,"

"Excellent Noa. You should get a good rest Yugi. We can talk some more another time,"

"Alright,"

Yugi knew that there was something wrong. When he told Yami what the guard said, it freaked him and Anzu out. It was very strange. The two of them were not ones to scare easy. Whatever it was, it was so contemptible in their minds that Yami didn't even want to talk about it. He could try to talk to Rini about it, but seeing Anzu's reaction, that might not be wise. Rini hadn't heard the conversation. She might have the same reaction. It was best to leave the issue alone until they were ready to discuss it. Yugi then started to think if Lynette knew anything about it. She was as old as Yami, Anzu, and Rini and seemed to know a lot about things that happened around them. But it wasn't like it really mattered anyway. He couldn't ask her, even if there was the possibility that she would know or would be willing to tell him about it.

In reality Lynette didn't seem to know about it anyway. Trinity was talking to her on the exact subject.

"Lynette, Kiram wasn't directly related to Yami was he?"

"That piece of scum? Of course not, that would make him related to me, in case you have forgotten,"

"I do forget that you are connected to Yami. Then do you know the entire family tree?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Then Yami did not have any brothers either?"

"No. What are you getting at?"

"One of the guards said that the Pharaoh from Nemesis was killed by his brother over thirteen thousand years ago,"

"He has no idea what he is talking about. The Pharaoh was never killed by his brother; in fact, the Pharaoh, has never died before handing over his throne. That guard was obviously just making excuses,"

"Oh, well. I just thought it would have been kind of interesting. To think that the Pharaoh could be killed on his throne…"

"I'll be in my quarters. Let me know when we begin approach of the next planet," she ordered one of the guards.

"Yes my lady,"

The truth was she wasn't sure; about Yami's father that is. She definitely knew Yami had not direct relatives other than Anzu and Rini, and her of course, but she had never known too much about his father, the previous Pharaoh, Yamiyugi during his rule. At least, she didn't think she did. When she tried to think about it, she got a terrible headache. It was strange to her. At first, she was determined to figure out why, but the urge was repeatedly suppressed, until she finally gave up after convincing herself she was only planting thoughts in her own head; at least, she thought she was the one convincing herself. Nonetheless, she and the Rosencraft were both on their way again, and that meant that the hunt for the Animus Blades of Paradise and Abyss was on again.

14

14 


End file.
